Love Poem: Betty's Swing
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Written by: Valerie Staton

Betty's Swing

By Valerie D. Staton


Down a long winding road there lived Old Betty Ann
In an old wooden house, the color of sand

Her home was surrounded by gardens and trees
And wind chimes that sung with the stir of a breeze

Most days Betty Ann could be found on her swing
It was above her porch and asparagus green

She’d kick off with a foot and then she would soar
Each vacillation higher than the one before

Betty Ann loved her metal swing so much
Only by permission could it be touched

Every year its color would be renewed
In either white, green or cobalt blue

She often sat on the old swing to knit
When in a good mood she’d allow others to sit

There was not much Betty Ann could not do
In the cast iron swing that was built for two

When Betty became ill and the end was near
She gathered together all those she held dear

"Before I go family, I ask one thing...
For one last ride inside my swing."

On the final day before Betty Ann died
She was placed in the swing for her final ride

And thus she transitioned doing what she loved most
She took one last swing then gave up the ghost