The "N" word

It was my grandmother's idea:
This word would not pass our lips
And so offend those among us
Who might have tender ears
And find offense in the hearing
And so, despite the common use
Of the word in less polite company,
In my grandmother's presence
We refrained from its use,
And so it passed from our conversations,
A word deleted from the text,
A volume omitted from the canon.

Some might call it silly;
Others use it with impunity.

In our home, it wasn't spoken.