Grandma Used To Smoke Weed — Jeffery Horton

Grandma kept a tin in the pantry
Right behind the sugar and tea
Said it helped her knees in the morning
And her bad dreams leave her be
She’d wink when the kettle was whistling
Shuffle to the back porch swing
Crochet on her lap
Little lighter in her hand
Humming some old-time hymn

Grandma used to smoke weed
In her Sunday shoes and her rosary beads
Laughing at the reruns on late night TV
Telling us kids
“Don’t you dare judge me”
Grandma used to smoke weed
Said
“Life gets heavy
You gotta feel free”
Clouds in her hair like a dandelion seed
Yeah
Grandma used to
Grandma used to smoke weed

Family photo frames on the table
Ash in a chipped ashtray
She’d tell us how she met granddaddy
At a protest back in the day
“World spins fast
Honey
Listen”
She’d tap the couch
Make room
“Be kind when you can
Let your heart stay soft
And let the flowers bloom”

Grandma used to smoke weed
In her Sunday shoes and her rosary beads
Laughing at the reruns on late night TV
Telling us kids
“Don’t you dare judge me”
Grandma used to smoke weed
Said
“Pain is real but it won’t own me”
Blew a little halo that drifted up free
Yeah
Grandma used to
Grandma used to smoke weed

Now her chair sits quiet in the corner
But her sweater still smells like spring
Sometimes I talk to the dust in the sunlight
And I swear I hear her sing (oh yeah)

Grandma used to smoke weed
In her Sunday shoes and her rosary beads
Turning all her worries into something sweet
Dancing in the kitchen with her tired old feet
Grandma used to smoke weed
Said
“Love’s the only thing you really need”
I light a little candle when I miss her sometimes
And let her laugh rise up like smoke in my mind