My Paternal Grandmother

She always seemed so very old But then she had old-fashioned ways Life was very hard for grandma In her much younger days Her mother died when she was young She grew up with a brother and dad Responsibilities came very soon for her She always seemed serious and sad She got married rather young, I think Had five babies but one died Pulling boiling water on top of him Oh Lord, how grandma cried My dad was the youngest of the four left And when he was just a small lad My grandfather just seem to walk away Grandma’s life turned from difficult to bad She picked fruit from the fruit trees In Yakima, in the state of Washington Dragging my daddy down the rows No, her life certainly was not much fun But she raised her kids all by herself She taught them right from wrong My tiny little grandma Was really very strong She died when she was eighty-two I’ll remember so many things For she loved me I always knew Without a single string!