Now, years later his daughter came up to me and grabbed me by the hand

I have a favor to ask, she said

You wrote that poem about my dad and I have a new thought in my head

could you please, please jot something down about my mother Mildred too

She’s not here today as she is home in bed

I said I’d try, that I would see what I could do

At our family get-togethers it is the women who keep each others company

And the men folk mostly spoke with me

It became clear to me that I had agreed to a heavy task

Fate had chosen me to ask

Who was this Mildred Brubaker any way?

I remember she once said hello to me and inquired how I was

And then she turned to my wife, her niece, and hugged her close just like a woman does.

Off they strolled to see the kitchen, I think

And put some groceries down upon the sink

Here I was making promises I could not keep, drinking from a cup that was difficult to sip

I was ready to throw my pen in the trash and avoid all of the strife

The only thing I knew about Mildred was that she was a nice lady, who had been kind to my wife.

Sad but true she had fallen and broken a hip

She was recovering and putting up quite a fight

But she missed this reunion, today’s family communion,

which gave me time to find some facts and get the matter right

Who was this Mildred Brubaker any way?

I decided to ask around and see what folks would say

She was a wife, and a mother, who spoke in a gentle but commanding voice

she had two daughters, Sandy and Joyce

My wife had received letters delivered by the postman over the years

They were not just notes but caring narratives sharing laughter, love and even some tears

Someone said Mildred was Lawrence’s wife and that said it all

But someone else said she was her own person who stood up straight and tall

I heard she was a waitress once

she collected things just like her husband did

I talked to everyone to find any silly story or secret that they hid

A tangent statement of truth is in the old Missouri way

Who are your kinfolk, the old timers would say

Now people often get cranky when they get sick and old

So you have to judge a person by their whole life or at least it so I’m told

Everyone agrees that the daughters are kind and good

So they must have gotten this trait from where their mother stood

I realized that I knew Mildred Brubaker because of her kin

And other people that she knew

when someone knows your family he also knows you too

Who was Mildred Brubaker anyway ?

She was the lady who presence everyone missed at this meeting of the clan

Mildred was the old dame grand

The wife, the mom, the aunt, a fixture in the family

An integral part of the old ancestral tree

She was the one who stayed at home and really couldn’t go

But Mildred is the lady that I am glad I finally got to know

mikeb