Here

Here I am in the garden laughing
an old woman with heavy breasts
and a nicely mapped face

how did this happen
well that’s who I wanted to be

at last a woman
in the old style sitting
stout thighs apart under
a big skirt grandchild sliding
on off my lap a pleasant
summer perspiration

that’s my old man across the yard
he’s talking to the meter reader
he’s telling him the world’s sad story
how electricity is oil or uranium
and so forth I tell my grandson
run over to your grandpa ask him
to sit beside me for a minute I
am suddenly exhausted by my desire
to kiss his sweet explaining lips

Grace Paley
Born: 11 December 1922, New York, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 22 August 2007, Vermont, USA

Paley was an author, poet, teacher, and political activist. She wrote three acclaimed collections of short stories about everyday conflicts and heartbreaks of city life influenced by her childhood in the Bronx. Paley was a feminist and anti-war activist