How I loved to
Sit beside you
Watch you loosen
Long, gray strands
Longing-
For those days
When the mane of auburn
Burned with fiery youth
Courted by the Scotsman
My grandfather
His gaze enough to make you blush
The tears well up
In your tired eyes
He no longer remembers you
Only that he can’t use his right arm
Can’t plant the gardens
Can’t hold anything dear to him
The brush strokes
You sigh his name
And as it hits the floor
You know
You can’t hold it anymore
oy, heavy....so hard being with one you love and loved...and have them not even remember you....the name falling to the floor was particularly vivid...
ReplyDeleteLisa, the longing in this poem is palpable. If only one could relive those memories.....
ReplyDeleteHow terribly sad Lisa ~ The fact that he doesn't remember anymore is even more tragic ~
ReplyDeleteA long hard goodbye here...you carried the emotion in your words. I remember watching my grandma brush out her long gray hair...
ReplyDeletethe not remembering...that is so hard...that was my grandmother for the last number of years of her life.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent piece. Poignant, simple and full of depth. It is heartbreaking that he cannot remember anymore - those lost memories are priceless.
ReplyDeletebeautifully sad
ReplyDeleteAh.. if only more people can find a way to go forth in that reality and so many more and make now a heaven that never ends for now at least... life so precious now so great.. never to spend a worry for now.. alive as one.. can be alive..:)
ReplyDeleteSo sad.. and when it has come to that point.. The hair and the changes reflected in those memories.. very sad, very real.
ReplyDeleteSo sad..beautifully penned.
ReplyDeleteso poignant, well done.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem that brings one to tears.
ReplyDeleteLisa, you are still one of my fav poets of the blogosphere. And this poem is just one of the reasons why.
ReplyDelete