These Hands

I started thinking back at all the things that these hands had been through:

Held a rattle and bottle

held my dad's finger

reached to turn off the Quasar television during Kennedy's assassination and got my bumm busted for it.

held flowers and bugs and snakes and frogs...much to my mum's dismay

held stubby fat crayons

held two quarters to get candy from corner store

felt the cold water coming up through a aquifer in the desert

Held a cold Coca-cola in a glass bottle

held onto a little black girls hand and defied the White Only signs

held a boy's hand for the first time

held protest signs for the Vietnam War

held many LP's playing Hendrix, Joplin and the Doors

pushed the start button on the old Rambler

learned how to drive on a 1965 chevy with rotted out floorboards (scared I would fall though)

held a sander and paint gun,learned how to re paint a car

held wrenches and tools rebuilding a 1967 mustang

held a skill saw and darn near cut off my other finger on the other hand.

swam with sharks and baraccuda and pet them

held a sea cucumber (yukk)

picked guava in the jungle

cut down coconuts with a machete

learned to type on a old manual typewriter, and then a IBM selectric

Held real fur coats in the stores and wept with sorrow over the animals that were killed for vanity

held the reins of many horses at a riding stable

held my diploma

held many, many books to read and many more

learned how to use contact lenses

held way too many alcoholic drinks till i wised up.

Held a iron bar and defended myself from a car jacking

held a sawed off shotgun and got rid of some unwanted visitors

held onto a biker and learned the joy of the free road on a Harley

Felt the bumpiness of a new tattoo while I put new ointment on it.

Gave a ring to my new husband at the altar

held pets as they passed away from old age...

Wiped many, many tears off my face

held my dad's hand as he passed away

refrained from punching several people

planted a flower for a child I lost before birth

held my newborn baby boy

helped my son write for the first time

held the bike as my son learned to ride

held a fresh warm egg that my chicken just laid

held my son's body as he was pulled from the lake after he drowned

held his hand in joy as he woke from a coma and was pronounced a miracle

held a gun and became a crack shot

learned to play the drums, the congas, a clarinet, oboe, piano and saxophone through the years.

tried learning the guitar.. terrible player

held a baby squirrel as I fed her a bottle, and later released her in the back yard

nursed a pigeon back to health

nursed many cats back to health

introduced my son to a Hedgehog and their wonderful spines

held my moms hand and wiped her brow as she passed away

hung up countless laundry on a line

learned how to handle a diabetic meter

pet my cats and feel the joy of a purr

love the feeling of a good lotion

hold onto the earth as a dig and plant flowers

feel the lines on my face as I age

these hands have scars and mileage, they look like my dad's

they have been through a lot of sorrow and joy through the years. I am learning to gracefully age with these hands