Mom, The Psychologist
(a true story)
When she was a young married mother of two in her early 30’s, Mom (b. 1924) wanted to be a psychologist, a radical step for any woman in the 1950’s. But a female social worker, with whom she consulted, (who had a college degree), talked her out of going to college. A college degree would have entitled her to work as a psychiatric social worker. She became a prescription drug addict, lived to be 94, still addicted to prescription drugs until the end.
*Courtesy of Jim Richardson AKA Lake Superior Aquaman on Youtube.com
This poem is one of Marion Rhodes'. She was a farmwife and mother of three, until she went back to school, and became a community college teacher.
Apple Pie Ridge
1957
The summer heat shimmers
Making a reflection of the fields and trees,
Not watery and cool, but hypnotizing
In tune with the cicadas and leaves barely moving
Enfolding the heat, lulling the mind.
Eyes gaze into nothing –
Relaxed suspension, momentary premonition,
Waiting for the inevitable shock of thunder.
Read by her daughter, Marcy Wallace