Mine and Yours

The Hands, Moise Kisling

Lorraine Jeffery

Lorraine Jeffery delights in her closeup view of the Utah…

Chapped hands scrub clothes in the snow-melt river

and with the hoe, attack unyielding earth.

Nail-bitten hands prepare yet another meal

and bloodied, hold new life,

While blue-veined hands are brought together in supplication,

and shaking, stretch in welcome.

Capable hands hold the scalpel, the gavel,

the pen.

Work-reddened hands hold the mop handle,

the broom.

While limp hands with painted fingers

beckon alluringly.

Long nimble hands talk to those who live in silence

and coax a melody from white keys.

Soft hands touch a lover’s cheek,

sooth a baby and stroke a brow.

While sinewy fists held above the head pulsate with the chants

and push despair deep into young veins.

Large-knuckled hands struggle with buttons

and transparent hands tremble with the spoon.

Smooth-skinned hands hold the book carefully

and forget a finger under a line.

While strong gloved hands work the gears

of the bulldozer.

Which hands are yours—mother?
They are all mine, my child,

and yours.

Tags

hands heritage inheritance poetry

Lorraine Jeffery

Lorraine Jeffery delights in her closeup view of the Utah mountains after spending years managing public libraries. She has lived and worked in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Oregon and Utah. She has won poetry prizes in state and national contests and published over one hundred poems in various journals and anthologies, including Clockhouse , Kindred, Calliope, Ibbetson Street, Rockhurst Review, Naugatuck River Review, Orchard Press, Canary, Two Hawks, Halcyon, Healing Muse, Regal Press and Bacopa Press. Her first book is titled When the Universe Brings Us Back, 2022, and her chapbook titled Tethers , by Kelsay Books, will be forthcoming. She and her husband are the parents of ten children - eight adopted and two biological.