she was never flamboyant, instead
grandma chose crowns
made simply of white feathers,
small rhinestones & royal blue felt

she wore them hats with a dignity
peculiar to southern black belles &
northerners grown too prim
to be touched

soapy, her hands worked
expertly to peel away
white feathers, washing
one at a time
till they shined

she embraced each feather with a
tenderness i never knew 
her touch could animate

finally, crowned she
is not extravagant
crowned grandma is
power glorified.

reprinted with permission from if glory wore a hat she would wear feather poems by wanda olugbala copyright 1997.