Tuesday, April 18, 2017

"Mary Natalie (Swan) Reinhart" by John Reinhart, Frequent Contributor

Mary Natalie (Swan) Reinhart
John Reinhart

“It’s been fun,” she said, 
slipping out of consciousness 
again. 

The last words she spoke. 
The stroke came that evening, 
another a few days later.

History never
had its hold
too tightly

leaving behind
the Depression
in Iowa

living in
a fairy tale
between the blitzes

her last
child born
at 45

social outings
with her MASS group –
Middle Aged Sexy Swingers

grandmother, never grandma, 
but always there
for a game of tag

“it’s been fun,”
she said, skipping
into the next room

another passel 
of friends, neighbors,
family waiting

Poet's Notes:  When I left for college I began a regular postal correspondence with my grandmother, one of the few people in my life not connected on email. It was a great privilege to get to know my grandmother in that way, and our correspondence inspired me to explore her biography further. She was a gracious and meticulous host, some characteristics of which I suspect came about through her work as a dietician and deployment to England during WWII. I was on the other side of the country while she gradually excarnated. My parents were visiting one evening when she drifted into wakefulness, looked up, and said, "It's been fun," before drifting off again. She had a stroke that night.

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