I ate the shank of the turnips what a wonderful food
Dipped the cornbread into the pot liquor
Then shawshanked out of the room..
My mother-in-law said her father called her older sister, Shank
And he called her Shawshank
Just out of curiosity I looked them up..Surprise, surprise!!
Shank means the top of a vegetable like the turnip tops, beets or parsnips or carrot, etc..It also is a cut of meat the shank park of a ham..
However, I did not find a meaning on shawshank until I looked in the Urban Dictionary and it means passing gas in small amount moving around a room or building to keep anyone from knowing who passed the gas..LOL..I guess my mother-in-law must have been a gassy baby..LOL
I see you South Carolina’s motherless child….
The chains of slavery set you free…
You are my history book and the link to my pit less soul…
Love began with you Mississippi midwife…..
Smells of Sage and Catnip, fried green tomatoes and pot liquor…
Your veiny swollen hand healed the sick and brought in new life….
Missy Anne played for your time without a lamenting thought your sister you chose ….
With loving respect I see you gazing back at me on Murdear’s bedroom wall…
Your picture yellow and cracked yet fresh with the dawn….
As your soft brown eyes and pomaded hair blew your aura into the busy confusion
of my present…
I wish for you….
I long for you…though you have transcended poverty, inadequacies, and time…
You are the balm of ancestral roots…
My darkest love is your eternal strength…
Your great gift of strength challenged me to be….