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By Margaret Walker

My grandmothers were strong.
They followed plows and bent to toil.
They moved through fields sowing seed.
They touched earth and grain grew.
They were full of sturdiness and singing.
My grandmothers were strong.


My grandmothers are full of memories
Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay
With veins rolling roughly over quick hands
They have many clean words to say.
My grandmothers were strong.
Why am I not as they?


Margaret Walker, “Lineage” from This is My Century: New and Collected Poems. Copyright © 1989 by Margaret Walker. Reprinted by permission of University of Georgia Press.

Source: This is My Century: New and Collected Poems (University of Georgia Press, 1989)

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Poet Bio

Margaret Walker
Margaret Walker’s poetry illuminates life in the South, depicting the lives of characters that range from the residents of New Orleans to legendary figures such as John Henry and Stagger Lee. Originally from Alabama and New Orleans, Walker attended school in the North at Langston Hughes’ advice. After graduating from Northwestern, she began work with the Federal Writers' Project under the Works Progress Administration in Chicago, working with writers such as Nelson Algren and Richard Wright. Walker was a literature professor at Jackson State University for 30 years. She founded the Institute for the Study of History, Life, and Culture of Black People (now the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center) at the school and went on to serve as the Institute's director. See More By This Poet

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