Author's Note: My grandfather really has meant a great deal to me. Growing up, my brother & I travelled summers with our grandparents, and during that time Granddaddy taught us a great deal. He was one of the most intelligent people that I have ever known, and now he has Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
Most of my poems just pop into my head, almost as if already written. This one, however, I struggled with for several months, so I could get it just right (and I still think it needs work).
Granddaddy
His once steady hands
. . . now shake.
His once focused mind
. . . now wanders.
The wonderful man I knew
. . . now lost.
Yet his spirit lives on in my heart.
His legacy of learning
. . . passed on.
His years of wisdom
. . . not lost.
His love of this life
. . . a gift to us.
For to all of us,
Granddaddy has been many things.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I remember his strong hands
teaching me to swim.
I remember his patient voice
teaching me history.
I remember his adventurous spirit
showing me the world.
I remember his constant example
showing us all how life should be lived.
His home with backyard pool,
a grandchild's retreat.
Box turtles to be found with each visit . . .
Big Black, Big Brown, and Spotty-Dotty, too.
Granddaddy helped scour the bushes of his backyard zoo.
As we grandchildren grew older,
our games changed to tests of knowledge like Trivial Pursuit . . .
With Granddaddy on our team, our victory was assured!
. . . for Granddaddy knew arts and entertainment!
. . . sports and leisure, too!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
But we began to notice gaps in his memories
just a few years ago.
As he struggled to remember stories long cherished
of family years past.
. . . his precise recollections just didn't last.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now the engineer who built rockets
. . . can't recognize kin.
His great mind is trapped
. . . by barriers within.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
One day, when we have children all our own,
. . . we’ll tell them of Granddaddy and all he has been.
Through us they will know the man
who shaped our lives in so many ways.
And through us . . .
Granddaddy
. . . will live on.