ABOUT: An assignment for English freshman year. It's about my Gramma (my great-grandmother) who passed away when I was in 8th grade. Click here to read more poems.

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Cookies
I remember
She always smelled like cookies to me.
Her skin was soft and wrinkled,
And her gray hair fell to her shoulders.
Sugar water, not sugar, in her coffee.
Eating pizza in her kitchen
And watching her limp around,
Trying to serve us all.
But most of all I remember
She always smelled of cookies.

Tales of events of the week
Told over dinner.
Helping prepare large meals in the tiny kitchen
On Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Family filled with constant fighting
Got along perfectly in her presence.
But I remember clearly
The smell of baking cookies.

Ducks and geese all around,
The little clock on the mantle,
The chair she always sat in,
The little stool for resting her weary legs,
Playing in the back room
Of the lonely little home.
But still I can’t forget
Smelling the cookies.

Endless snack supply for hungry children,
Evident love for all,
The voice no one could forget,
Mandatory kisses when you left.
She was as shaky on the many birthdays
As she was on her feet,
But I can’t forget
How she smelled like cookies.

Weeks in the hospital,
I was too scared to visit.
She got better, but then she left.
Funeral full of constant tears and good-byes,
Littlest ones unaware of the truth.
She looked so content and free of pain.
But she still smelled faintly
Like baking cookies.

We sold away her least important things,
But I have many of her once-possessions.
I miss her still and wish she was here.
Even after a year, I still cry.
I still can see her face clearly,
And remember every detail.
I can still hear her voice,
And I still smell the cookies.