Poem:
aunt minnie’s eyes
(minnie lee thomas 1900-1989)

by jacquese armstrong (2/2025)

saw aunt minnie
peering up at me from
a triangled corner
of a perplexed/
been through jim crow eye
mouth
slightly askew
she didn’t say anything
she never did
not to me too much anyway
i was in my teenage
rebel against the machine at all cost mode…
yeah

at 63 looking back
a week after we laid dad to rest
in eufaula/ after we had driven by
her old home on forsythe street
those eyes made a trip to visit me
only now
looking into aunt minnie’s eyes once again
with my age and my wisdom/i saw her
she had been askin if
it was gonna work for me
that rebel against the machine bit

we had a guffaw laugh…in 2025
‘cause truth be told
i’m still in that frame of mind
and no
it’s not workin for me

see
i read and read my history
i try to know my history
i wrote about it from childhood
but i never really read the eyes that
made the history
until they left

so
yesterday
when aunt minnie stopped me
sat me down and made me look
through her eyes
she
was making a call
there was a pain
in those soft beige-skinned eyes
as she peered up at me
a story that
may have been taken into transition
maybe i
could have unburdened her of
before her flight so
she could see more clearly

it’s ironic that in a human
the roots and stump of the tree
the oldest part
are the most fragile

and this poem she gave me
is a calling
to help an elder soar

the interpretation of our family’s garden
are written within eyes
they are the keepers of our time.

Creative Field: Poet, Writer & Speaker

Connect: @jacquesearmstrong | www.jacquese-armstrong.com