Medicine Woman
Grandmom's embrocations tasted
kind of strange, and sometimes hard to get beyond the nose. But,
we found out the hard way, the one who most complained often had
to take a second dose.
If we caught her squeezin' lemons wit' the flaxseed tin nearby,
someone was due for slimy flaxseed tea. We made faces to each
other, behind her back, of course. I tried to hide and hoped it
wasn't me.
That can of melted goosegrease on the cookstove at the back -
'til we had goose again - got strong and old. Smeared on our
chest with vigor at the first sign of a sneeze, we told ourselves
we'd rather catch a cold.
We'd walk around with sore throats if Grandmom was around, and
swallow secretly so we didn't show it. If she found out we'd get
a stocking tied around our necks and a scolding 'cause we hadn't
let her now it.
Then, with a chicken feather that she'd dipped in kerosene, she'd
paint our throats and oh, how we would gag. Then, tied around our
ankles to bring our fevers down, strong onion poultice tied up in
a rag.
We never knew the roots and herbs that filled the room with steam
- we just knew we breathed better by its vapor. If one of us got
earache, the simple treatment was the residue, or ash, from
burned brown paper.
Cut fingers she would bandage with her sticky homemade salve.
Then we'd be sporting Grandmom's finger stall. She treated burns
with aloes; she extolled their healing power - tho' crushed
plaintain from her yard was her "cure all."
She'd rub some soothing spirits on our teething babies' gums, so
all of us would get a little rest; and hang a string of Job's
tears around their little necks to help them cut their teeth, as
she felt best.
Even chickens got a treatment if she heard of gapes in town. I've
helped her part their little beaks so wide so she could force a
piece of camphor down their tiny throats. (I'm sure they never
got a moth inside.)
Yes, Grandmom always had a way to doctor everyone; if we could
get the strength we ran and hid. But this I know - she always
cared and did the best she knew. I guess I was a very lucky kid.
-Lillian Arnold Lopez "Pineylore"