grandpa
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As I pulled onto the red dirt road, the barn was standing there,
where as a child, I ran about and had no other cares.
No doors upon her weathered walls, no hay up in the loft,
I miss you.
I miss you as much as i miss the first taste of summer wehn winter hits.
Or as much as i miss the first frost at the peak of those dog days.
Six years have gone by without you here.
My short, silky pigtails were brushing
through the wind while you pushed me on the swings,
since my little legs couldn’t swing myself.
Grandpa turned to me and said:
Nooit Gedact, you never know what to expect
I hold those words to my heart
But his heart stopped
And I didn't expect it
I may not know what to expect
Hi Gramps,
It’s me again.
I just wanted to tell you
That I love you.
And That you’ve shown me
You wouldn’t think
His eyes would shine so bright
Beneath those clouds that fog his sight
But they’ve been aglow since ‘25
You wouldn’t think he would be so kind
Such a little man
But full of heart
You've helped me until this day
It teared my soul apart
Knowing it's been 7 months since you've been gone
But the things you taught me have brought me far along
TEN toes as he counts them
Curling and uncurling
As he commands them to move
For one of the last times
The doctor showed concern
It's been almost a year
That's three-hundred-sixty-five days
since the last time I saw you
Since the last time you had life inside you.
I remember the wires, the hoses, the machines
I wonder what you were like.
My father's father, cast away from the light.
I never met you like I wish I have
You never heard me talk or seen me walk
We never had a chance to sit together and laugh.
A Letter to Grandpa
Grandpa,
How do I say goodbye?
I remember the days spent at your ranch,
They fill me with joy-
and with guilt.
A Letter to Grandpa
Grandpa,
How do I say goodbye?
I remember the days spent at your ranch,
They fill me with joy-
and with guilt.
Goodbye Tatay*
Dear Tatay,
I still find myself talking about you in present tense.
It’s been twelve years since I flew from Manila,
I wish when I picked up the bags I was aware of the permanence.
The pain is like a cold, sharp knife
It is twisted, stuck in my heart;
The pain is like a frozen land
The frostbite sears right through my heart;
Grandpa,
A life taken too soon.
A man full of wisdom,
Happiness, and truth.
As you lay on that hospital bed, and my eyes swell with tears
“Follow me, my child” you said with a smile in your kind, wise eyes
“Let me show you how to heal”
And you did
“Follow me, my child” you said with a gentle outstretched hand
Dear God,
The great all glorious man in the sky
It's me,
you're originally raised catholic girl who's grandparents installed in her your love
I stayed a good girl for a long time, I prayed and I went to church
he smelled like books and cigarettes
and the sad smile he wore was almost as loose as his
shirt.
he smelled like beer and his dog Rocky
David F. Battey,
He was a lot of things in 85 years
He was a father, a grandfather, a husband, a friend.
He was a learner, a doer, a thinker.
Because I Love You
I miss you every day because I love you
I keep your pictures beside me, and do not allow desperation to misguide me.
Because I Love You
I miss you every day because I love you
I keep your pictures beside me, and do not allow desperation to misguide me.
A stranger’s love is the best kind of love
They love you until the end
They know not who you are
But they seem to know where you’ve been
You don’t realize until it happens, that a person can die multiple times without once being resurrected.
You don’t realize until it happens, that a heart can break endlessly without being glued back together.
One year's passed,
one dreadful year of sadness and longing,
like being underwater for 12 months,
the noises and experiences muffled and insignificant,
seems as if he has been on a years vacation,
If I had one more day with you,
I'd ask about your life.
I'd learn so many things,
Even hear about the bad times.
If I had one more day with you,
You would show me more about cars.
For 12 years,
You made me laugh
For 12 years,
You gave me advice
For 12 years,
You kept our family together
Now this year, a new year, 2017
You're not here
You're not here
I found a faded photograph
Of my grandparents
Not the grandparents you’ve met
My grandmother who died of cancer
The one I’m named after
My biological grandfather who killed himself
My hero is my grandpa
Someone who I saw no flaw
He woke up healthy and happy
That day he fell so snappy
I saw him go from a working guy
To a man who could have died
From a little blood on his head
When I ask grandfather,
“Why is your face so wrinkled?”
Mother hushes me,
Grandpa smiles,
I keep quiet.
But as the years go by,
My childhood question unanswered,
7 a.m. comes way too fast,
I snooze my alarm so the ringing will pass.
No ambition to start the day,
Not too worried about the price I may pay.
I missed you today
I sang a song that reminded me of sitting across from your atrophic mind,
Telling you truths in a way that kept it off the pain long enough for you to rest your weary eyes
My best friend,
memories are kept with me.
Why’d it have to end?
My successes I send,
flying free.
My best friend.
Wherever I may go
I know where I have been.
My grandfather, has lost this.
For everything he sees,
he does not remember.
Memories make us who we are.
Without them,
we are a lost cause.
Why are they so happy
It’s not like he’s coming back
I think this is dumb
They are all really old
Like, boarding on ancient
There is no poem long enough
To describe the closest person to me.
His words spewing out of his mouth like a racecar
As he tells the hard times of growing up.
And the many disagreeing debates
Blissfully asleep
The cold air never seeped in to get me
I was protected by a sleeping bag worn old, purple and pink
But it was ruined
Suddenly that old sleeping bag stopped protecting me
I found three in a row this week:
One in the slushy parking lot
on the chunk of sidewalk that bridges
the street and still snow-dusted cars together.
It was covered in gravel-infested snow.
O'l Ollie is my granddad
He's as old as a Dino
If he heard he'd be mad
So if he asks say no
Tears fall to the floor
Can't fight this feeling anymore
Of loss and regret
Can't take one more step
Because I won't come back
The feelings will be intact
And I see
That I'll be
Papa, do you see me?
Scared little girl in the corner
I know you told me to smile
Not to cry or mourn or
Wish I could’ve done something
Made your pain go away
Found a cure faster
Tears flow as time whisks her away
Each second her pain escalates, she tries to hide it
Grandma hurls as chemo fills her veins, we pray
It’s the only thing Grandpa can’t fix with his tool kit
I can feel you
I know your here
I can feel you walking around
I can feel you cooking breakfast
Your presence makes me smile
Your presence makes me cry
I'm happy.
A little girl use to laugh at jokes he told her
Even if she didn't understand a word
She use to try to mimic back every joke she learned
Bet he had a ball laughing at all her little failures
How does death choose?
Who we lose?
How does it pick them?
Each victim.
I wish it hadn't picked you.
I had no choice as your voice
just faded away,
and day after day
The most important thing about my grandpa is that he will aways love me.
He also never stops joking, touching peoples' lives, and he will never stop creating art.
She made her way through the treacherous grass forest. Step after step, she journeyed as quickly as her short legs could take her.
I took your love for granted
And I apologize
I wonder what my life would be like
If you was still alive
You was a great man
And taught me great wisdom
I miss you
The cool breeze skims my skin,
Giving me the chills.
My toes crinkle in the sand,
As I quickly look to the hills.
Remembering him was easy,
But missing him was hard.
There was a man, a great man, one who I called a hero. He was quiet, hardworking and most of all a humble man. All his life this man worked from sun up to sun down. The word to describe this man is "faithful".
The sun shines on this day but you are on my mind,
There were so many things left to say
I regret the loss of time
I will always remember the good times
Though a tear falls from my eye
So much dependsupon
his broad and freckledshoulders
still and at silentattention
next to red, white, andblue.
Grandpa where did you go?
Grandpa why did you leave?
Ever since you've left,
I feel like i cant breath,
The nights feel longer and the sun shines less,
My life without you is filled with distress,
They smile and they giggle
And the back is filled with bumps.
His hands on the the wheels and each
turn is smooth as silk.
It weaves a brilliant spiderweb
Through the mornings, after
school.
“I’m sorry for your loss”
Yeah, so am I
Thanks for reminding me
Constantly that someone I love is gone
I appreciate the gesture
I really do
But do you know what I lost
I know one day you'll have to go
and that's the day that I will know,
that you'll be under heaven's apple tree
looking down and watching over me.
I'll miss you and you'll miss me,
so I'll dream of our apple tree
Love is not a kiss and a hug. Love is expressed though a kiss and a hug.
Love is a treasure often kept close. It is more than an emotion, it gives hope.
