I am Norwegian.
I never saw my mother kiss my dad.
I know they kissed because I was born.
I never saw my mother kiss my dad,
But they got close enough for me,
My sister and my two brothers to be born.
I wish all the men in my life
Were still with me—
My father, my two brothers, my four sons,
My darling 6′7″ husband.
was born in Minneapolis in 1927 and grew up on the Navajo Indian Reservation in
New Mexico. She taught school before she was married and loved teaching and loved
her marriage and loved giving birth to her four sons. This poem is a first draft
produced at an independent-living poetry workshop for senior citizens who live at
St. Paul’s Residence in San Diego.