Hillbilly Elegy

whether she went to Deaton’s to bury an
old friend, a brother, or her beloved
mother, Mamaw greeted every guest,
laughed loudly, and cursed proudly.
So it was a surprise to me when,
during Papaw’s visitation, I went
searching for comfort and found Mamaw
alone in a corner of the funeral home,
recharging batteries that I never knew
could go empty. She stared blankly at the
floor, her fire replaced with something
unfamiliar. I knelt before her and laid my
head in her lap and said nothing. At that
moment, I realized that Mamaw was not
invincible.
In hindsight, it’s clear that there was
more than grief to both Mamaw’s and