Verdigris

What was the reason my great grandmother
secretly kept 'nerve’ pills
in a sea foam green compact beside her bed

Authentic! Antique! Made in Italy!
She had ideas about fashion

Dentures in an amber salve jar
bobby pins scattered on the floor
verdigris costume jewelry
that left marks
on her pink vanity

She had opinions on people who drank wine

My great grandmother lost her baby
buried her down into the ground
crimson pills to numb the pain
money sent to preachers on the TV

She had thoughts on why God took her child

The doctors called her crazy
in the days before trauma
and PTSD were talked about
They wanted to shock the sadness
right out of her bones

She told people
she heard the voice of God
clear as the shrill crow in her barren garden

Verdigris

Later she said she couldn't know
if it was God
or the pills that she mixed
with brewed catechins

Either way
she bought nylons from the dime store
and wore the beige and cream stones
of her gravel road out
waiting to be raptured up to Heaven