From the poem My Grandfather Swallows His Pride by Ron Rash (Eureka Mill P.32) I have learned that there's sugar at Spring's store and salt in Grandma's cupboard, Grandfathers are sometimes stubborn, money can be scarce, and that salt and sugar are not good substitutes for each other. I also learned that decisions have consequences that are often hard to calculate, that grandpas should listen to grandmas, and fine white grains can look similar yet taste very different.
In the first eight lines of the poem we learn that Grandma would normally go to the store, but she is home sick with the flu so Grandpa goes in her place to buy the needed sugar for the winter. I picture him smiling and maybe even whistling as he walks to Spring's store, proud that he is helping his sick wife with what would usually be her responsibility. Then I see him confidently unshelving what he thought was sugar and making his way to the clerk. The poem says he "countered all he held" which was the dollar in his pocket on the purchase. Then he quickly calculated the coins given back to him in exchange for the dollar.
The last six lines tell us that his wife, Grandma, tried to get him to return the salt for sugar but he refused. He thought he knew the price he would pay and opted instead to drink black and bitter coffee through the winter months to save his pride instead of exchanging the incorrect purchase. The last part of the poem tells us "he drank his coffee black all winter, into the spring, let it scald his bitter, stubborn tongue."
