The Kneeling Siren (Grandmother's Statue)

Ruddy, she speaks as loudly as a wild china rose
but proudly carries herself like a genteel marigold
hanging onto happiness as life’s chain letters unfold
While blushing her cheeks pink, she said that's how the story goes:
Pick a title, write your chapters, everybody knows
Our days are either short or long or lonely as we grow old
Pick your leaves, pack your thorns, because cut flowers will mold -
If you don’t change the murky water, the fungi's kingdom grows

She teaches from the sea now, her lessons yet to be learned
from her statued perch, when the sun rises from the Earth
Hybrid, she kneels on her hands, and I know she is afraid

I wrap my arms around her, even when I feel her burn
I shine her faded finish when I borne and bear our worth
giving rise to the golden lotus as we sit side-by-side and pray.