Poet's Platform Column | 8 May 08 by Janet Nesler | The Scioto Voice | Wheelersburg, Ohio

Appalachian Jewel Mom was a Clorox woman sanitizing the world we lived in— Strong with a gentleness that gave tranquility to all childhood problems. Bringing contentment with the aroma of beans & ham hocks on bone chilling days. Fragile in appearance but ox-strong when times got tough. At the height of Appalachian winters strung fresh washed clothing on iced lines. On Sundays at services she wore nylon hose and smelled fresh like the Lilac toilet water in the creases of her arms and behind her ears. A true Appalachian Jewel, like her name, at bedtime she read God’s word aloud to her children by dim lamplight around a polished table and listened to each prayer. Janet Nesler Sciotoville   Chicken Dinner Sunday was a day of fried chicken, We were so hungry it seems. We wanted to hurry home for dinner Our friends over to be in the scene. Morn loved to open her green beans. With ham season cooked inside, Well have some cornbread and potatoes, Our dinner table was so long and wide. It was a special meal for our Susie Our favorite grandmother so sweet. She made our house so happy, She brought us some candy treats. We loved Bessie the brown cow. She gave us plenty of good milk. Mom loved to bake the apple cake. Special for our cousin dressed in silk. We always had plenty of chickens, And a dog to keep us busy it seems. The memories of our home is special, We treasure the visitors and the dream. Nancy Mineer South Shore, Ky   Thank You God... for pretending not to notice that one of your Angels is missing, and for guiding her to me. You must have known how much I would need her, so you turned your head for a minute and allowed her to slip away to me. Sometimes I wonder what special name you had for her. I called her Mother. Mary Woodward Wooster, OH