She sat on her porch...
She drank her coffee...
She watched her wild birds eating...
She enjoyed the spring day...

She closed her eyes...
She could almost be back...
Back many years...
Back to her Grandma's porch...
Her world was so different then...
America was a different place...

There was a window between that porch...
That porch and Grandma's kitchen...
Wonderful smells came through that window...
She could close her eyes today...
Close her eyes and almost smell the cooking...

She was a little girl when she visited...
Visited on that wonderful porch...
Family and friends gathered there...
Laughter and work was shared...
She was 18 the last time she was there...
She was 80 now and on her porch...

Maybe her porch is a safe place...
A place to remember safer times...
Maybe no place has ever been safe...
But the 1957 America seemed safer...

People could go to a store after dark...
Schools were safe to attend...
Churches were safe to attend...
Mass killings were unusual...
Families were not changed...
Changed by drive by killings...
Police and laws were respected...

She does not understand how...
How America got too far off course...
She is glad her Grandma does not know...
Know the 2022 America...

There are many good citizens...
Citizens who love America...
Maybe that is the answer...
Maybe someone will make things better...
Maybe prayer is the answer...
God must be crying...
Crying when He sees America today...

Maybe someday porches will be safer...
Maybe smarter voting is an answer...

More About Judge Rembert: WWII made Judge an only child when her half-brother was killed in the war. She lived in a tiny town in South Carolina until she was eight and her Mother went to work. She was sent to a boarding school in Belmont, N.C. From that time on she has lived back and forth in the two Carolinas. They are both home. She was born dyslexic and did not know what the problem was or that it had a name until she was about 45. She was unable to spell so she never put words on paper until she was 65 and had a computer with spell check. She comes from a long line of story tellers and a Mother that taught her much by telling stories. Stories about people and how they faced life and how they dealt with problems. If you read what she writes you may hear her Mother and her Grandmother talking to her. She is thrilled to know that anyone reads her words and finds them interesting. Oh, she is 75 now and she now makes her home in Aiken, S.C. If you like Judge’s writings or would like to comment on them let her know by emailing [email protected].