Rose
The sweetest little girl, that one was
fortunate enough to encounter, was Rose. Her silken hair was as
soft and warm a brown as milk chocolate. Her big brown eyes were
all the darker because of her flawless and creamy complexion.
Her eyes, however, had a sadness about
them and her little shoulders seemed to carry a heavy burden -
a burden no child should have weighing on her. She was frail and
her clothes hung loosely on her small frame.
Rose was the eldest of what resulted in
a family of ten. Most of her brothers and sisters she had helped
her mother bring into the world, and to some she had even given
their names.
Her mother worked very hard at cleaning
other people's homes and barred her drunken husband, none-too-soon,
from their small home.
Rose had very little schooling as she had
to care for her siblings, and as well, do chores for neighbours
who would give her cast-off shoes and clothes or sometimes a penny.
Rose became adept in carefully ripping the stitches from the clothing
and refashioning and sewing outfits for herself and her younger
sisters and brothers.
When she grew older, she found work in
a shoe store. Here, her cares seemed to fade, her dark eyes became
bright, and her shy smile showed dimples in her cheeks. When she
learned to laugh, her perfect, pearl-white teeth were the envy
of other girls. Her health was fragile and her job was lost, but,
when she next found work, it was once more in 'shoes'; this time
wrapping them for delivery.
It was here that Rose met her young Prince
Charming. Her happiness shone from the very core of her being
and that small rosebud was radiant - as if the sun in the heavens
was shining down and bidding forth the most delicate and beautiful
of any flower known to man. She glowed with an inner stength and
the Irish leprechauns surely put the sparkle of stardust into
her eyes. She sang like an angel and her laughter was a blessing
for anyone to hear.
The most precious rose had grown from that
wee waif-of-a-girl and I was fortunate enough to call her my mom.
(1902 - 1974) ~Joan Adams Burchell~ (copyright)
Rose Winterfield
- taken 1919
(Photo of Red Rose)