Namesake Niece

Laura Ellen Whitley
on her wedding day

She dropped the Ellen long ago,
but Laura Ellen she was born,
named for the aunt named
for her great-great-grandmother.
Wedding day photo shows that
woman sad, sepia tones matching her expression.
Hard life, nine children
on a farm, difficult man to please,
or try to. I raised four, made
babies with a man of pleasant character.
And now there's Laura, mother
of one son with curly hair and

Beautiful namesake niece,
Laura Ellen Yount

eyelashes that would break your heart.
Three hard-workers,
there is that similarity.
I know of two who're smart
and love to laugh and have
tattoos. Life proved too much
for the first; we never met.
What would she think of being
mentioned in a poem available
on this newfangled Internet?
What would she think of me, and Laura, and all that's happened in the world
since last she breathed? If other Laura Ellens follow, maybe one day
they will think the same of us,
when we are, like Grandma Whitley,
blended with the dust. For now,
however, I'll not think of that, but
celebrate the vibrant woman
my own namesake's become, and
miss her, wish her well, and
hope her birthday's grand.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2013