Grandma Cooks

The biography of my Baka (Croatian for grandmother) is sketchy and images of her are what remain in my heart. I met her once when she journeyed to Australia at the age of 83. A remarkable achievement for a woman who rarely ventured beyond the parameter of her tiny village for most of her life. Baka arrived in Australia with a suitcase containing no clothes only a magnificent handwoven rug for her eldest granddaughter, her namesake Rose. Baka endured hardships during her lifetime that I can't even begin to imagine. Her courage was legendary and she was well known for her midwifery, herbal medicine and counselling knowledge. When she died at the age of 96, all the villagers walked through the streets, in procession behind the casket, mourning her. For Baka
Elizabeth Hayes

For Rose Cubela
by
Elizabeth Hayes

The dewy window
where you work your loom
overlooks distant fields
of herbs and flowers
trembling in the wind
You keep a vigilant eye
on my clever stitching
of life’s torn patches
When my eyesight dims
you thread the needle
with a steady hand
Your eyes navigate the dark
where only moonbeams filter
Unravelling
to see
if I’ll follow
the yarn to the end
I long to hold your hands
deftly moving
to weave
my instalments
of your bigger story.