Thank you for the garden.
Your impact has helped us all bloom,
I remember your table set to eat mornings, nights, and noon.
I remember the pretty dresses you sewed and all the scraps of cloth I used to play with in your sewing room.
I remember you humming sweet musical tunes.
I remember your extremely long puzzles—your commitment, your patience.
I remember the puppets you gave Julius and I so we could remain friends.
Thank you for the ginger snaps and sweets,
Thank you for letting me play in the garden on West Canal Street.
With the wind in the petals and the dancing of my ponytails, it was my favorite place to go.
As I grew older, thank you for the long talks in the afternoons.
Thank you for memories and the lessons,
That were passed from you.
Thank you for helping in your own sweet way to make my life bloom.

Granny Hyde,
Thank you.
Coretha Hartshorn