This poem was written in 1996 and published in the National Library of Poetry volume Into The Unknown. Annie Rone was actually my great-grandmother, but I eliminated the "great" for better rythmn. Pictured left is my grandmother, Millie Raymer. Annie Rone is on the right.

MY CHEROKEE GRANDMOTHER, ANNIE RONE

Her picture came today from my aunt in Kentucky
And the old Indian woman looks kinda plucky
Standing proud and tall in a paleface dress
Of her Indian blood you would never guess
Now I know where I got my high cheek bones
From my Cherokee grandmother, Annie Rone

Though my daddy knew, he never discussed it
My uncle told us, but was told to hush it
Now the secret’s out, and the cousins all love it
We’ve got Cherokee blood and we’re damn proud of it
But we are sad that very few facts are known
Of our Cherokee grandmother, Annie Rone

We don’t know her clan and we wish we could ask her
If bear, bird, wolf or panther was our ancestor
It might also be deer, paint or wind
From which of the seven clans did she descend?
What led her to her Old Kentucky Home?
My Cherokee grandmother, Annie Rone

By Sue Raymer Woods
National Library of Poetry, 1996