Stories My Mother Told Me

Grandfather was a hunter as his father was before

Meat and fish to feed his family, kept wolves from the door.

Pacific Ocean his back yard a child of the East Coast 

Of ethnic mix his Maori side’s the blood he loved the most

Grandmother was a little lady barely reached his heart

Met him on their wedding day, and never did they part

It was a marriage pre arranged between two families

Traditionally to unite tribes a way to keep the peace

Over thirty years eleven children came along

And with so many mouths to feed Grandpa worked hard and long

He taught eight sons to hunt and fish and work the farm each day

Watched them grow to healthy men as he slowly turned grey 

His daughters three learned lovingly from his adoring wife

Even though the times were hard they built a happy life.

And as the years passed and all the children left their home

One or two stayed with the farm and raised kids of their own

Sadly Grandma got quite ill and had to move to town

To get treatment for the cancer that in her breast was found

Grandpa watched her waste away and never left her side

Then one fine day in early Spring, she smiled at him and died

He took her body home, and laid her peacefully to rest 

Back to where they’d built a life, the place they loved the best

And when he passed away at the great age of ninety two

They buried him beside his love, where he had asked them to

I love to hear those stories from the times before my birth

Of times when men and women took great care of Mother Earth

Is from the Earth all life begins and to her will return 

And from these stories told to me I listen and I learn.