The
Woman
By
Glenda Council Beall
The
woman bore and taught the children,
did the
laundry, cooked the meals,
mothered
seven, prayed some,
and shed
her share of tears.
The man
was strong, but needed her
to
bolster up his mettle. Worked two jobs,
the
early days, until he was successful.
Built
his company which kept him happy
almost
forty years.
The
woman had a secret dream,
to work,
to earn,
have a
career,
but
marriage came, then kids.
Finally
her chance arrived.
He
needed help. He called her in.
Beside
him, daily, she gave all
she had
inside, and joyed in doing it.
One day,
he quit. Closed
the
doors, went fishing.
And she
went home to an empty house
too
lonely, too clean, to nothing.
Hello fellow travelers! I want to introduce you to Glenda Council Beall, a writer and poet residing in Hayesville, North Carolina.
JEG: Glenda this is a lovely poem. It says volumes about what
has been expected of women and what
I think that this poem describes more of women of
yesteryear, when these were traditional women’s roles. Am I right about this?
GB: Yes, Joan. I actually based this on my mother’s life, although
neither she nor my father ever worked in an office. He and his four sons were
in business together. My mother kept the books for the farming operation. She
loved it and felt such a part of the business. But the day my father decided to
retire, she was out of a job as well. No one asked if she wanted to continue to
work for the family business. She was retired right along with him.
JEG: Is this poem about someone you know?
GB: The poem is not a true story of my mother, but of many
women who stood behind their husbands, supported them in all they did, and
never had the choice of having a career outside the home.
JEG:This woman worked hard all of her life, yet was happy to
become a care-taker for her husband at the end of his life. Did I interpret
this correctly?
GB: Women of that generation took care of everyone in the
family. The woman was the nurturer and the man was the bread winner. Their
roles were distinctly different. Women seldom had a choice once the children
came along. They stayed home and cared for the kids, the house and made sure
the man had a comfortable home to come back to every night. She didn’t want him to get sick or die. What
would she do if she lost him, the bread winner? This was long before women
began pushing for equal rights in the work place and respect for what they
could do.
JEG: I think this speaks to what a woman is capable
of and how strong we are. Would you agree with this sentiment?
GB: Women have had to be strong and resilient to hold the
family together. My mother was the glue that held all seven children and my
father tightly interwoven as one unit. My older sister, whose husband died when
she was only 48 years old, had to leave that nurturing mother role and go back
to work to support herself and her two teenage daughters. She had not worked
outside the home in sixteen years. She had no choice, and she did a fantastic
job raising her girls alone. But the traditional role of women and men has
changed. Today most women work, keep house, and take care of everyone, but most
young men now help with household chores, I think.
JEG: I can’t help but think that there is a parallel here, with
your life. Do you relate to the “too lonely, too clean, to nothing?
GB: In the poem, the woman, who could be any woman, found
herself with no real purpose. Her children were grown. She couldn’t go back to
her old role of being a mother and a housewife. How many times do you need to
clean a house that doesn’t get dirty?
Her husband was happy with his retirement, no responsibilities, and no
pressures. He could go fishing, watch sports on TV, garden or read. He had a
choice whether to work or stop.
What happened to her after he closed his business was of no
concern to him. When he quit, she was set adrift. We don’t know if she found
anything else to make her feel useful or if she became a caregiver for her
husband. I left the poem open for the reader to see how women were so dependent
on men at one time. Hopefully, today women get good educations and find fulfilling
jobs. They don’t have to be totally dependent on a man.
JEG: Yes, Glenda, that is certainly true!
GB: I can relate to this situation. When my husband Barry
passed away, I couldn’t imagine living the rest of my life with no purpose. I
have worked since I was old enough to go to a job. In high school, I worked in
the summers and on Saturdays. After I graduated from college, I taught school,
public and private, for fifteen years. During the ten years I cared for my
mother, I learned to use the computer and worked part time jobs. I also worked
in our family business for a while in the seventies and eighties. I was never a
mother, but I took care of the house, our large yard, and spoiled my husband
who loved attention. I had purpose in my life, and I enjoyed my life, but after
my parents died, and I lost Barry in 2009, I knew it was time for me to get into the driver’s seat and make
decisions about where I was going. Most of my life I had gone where I was
needed or where others took me.
Like the woman in the poem, I felt lost and alone and adrift
for about six months, until I opened my writing studio in my home. I love being
my own boss and making my own plans.
The majority of fees paid for Writing Circle classes go to
the instructors. I only take enough to “keep the lights on”. There is cost in having the studio at my home
– cleaning, electricity, yard maintenance, and upkeep on the place.
I also spend many hours scheduling workshops, at least one each
month, and then getting the word out about them from spring until fall. Those
hours I donate to the writers in the area who come and take advantage of the
excellent instructors we bring in. My purpose and my mission are stated on my
Writers Circle around the Table blog. www.glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.com
I also find purpose in working for North Carolina Writers Network-West, known as Netwest. This wonderful
writing community changed my life twenty years ago when I moved here. I will be
forever grateful.
JEG: Thank you so much for being my guest on Traveling at the Speed of Now!
GB: It was my pleasure!
GB: It was my pleasure!
Glenda Council Beall, a Georgia native,
lives in Hayesville, NC, where she is the owner and director of 'Writers Circle Around the Table', a studio that provides education for
writers. She also teaches writing in the continuing education
department at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC.
Glenda's poems have appeared in numerous journals
including Wild Goose Poetry
Review, Applachian Heritage, Main Street Rag, Journal of Kentucky
Studies, Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Red Owl
Magazine and in the anthologies, Kakalak –
Anthology of Carolina Poets, 2009, 2011 Poetry Hickory,
FutureCycle, Lights
in the Mountains, Women’s Places Women’s Spaces, On Our Own,
Widowhood for Smarties, From Freckles to Wrinkles, and Reach
of Song published by the
Georgia Poetry Society. Her poetry chapbook, Now
Might as Well be Then, published by Finishing Line Press, is available at City Lights Bookstore in
Sylva, NC, and online from Amazon.
JOAN’S BOOKS:
EMBRACING
YOUR INNER CHEERLEADER: http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Your-Inner-Cheerleader-ebook/dp/B0086WW7AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&
©All creative works
by Joan Ellen Gage are her exclusive property, and Joan maintains the legal
rights to them.
Enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interview with Glenda Beall and thanks for her poem, "The Woman." The poem does take me back through my "many lives in one lifetime." It is better for women today but still, not easy by any means.
ReplyDeleteGlenda Beall's depth is captured in her writings, in her persona, and in your interview with her. She gives back to the writing community in words and deeds, for which we are all grateful.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jack. What a nice compliment. I appreciate Joan's interview as well.
DeleteJoan, Thank you for this interview with Glenda. She is a woman with many talents and gives so much to others in her life. I 'm glad you showcased her in this way.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gay. I appreciate your reading and commenting here.
ReplyDelete