Saturday, November 11, 2006

Summer's Child

drove by grandma and grandpa's today
been thirty plus years they have gone
the red brick house hasn't changed much

as I looked at it
the flood of memories came
i could see grandma with the dustmop
mopping the sparkling hallway
the smell of grandpa's liniment in the bathroom
grandma making noodles
and me trying to sneak off some dough
grandpa's chair sat in for many years
the indentations were always there

i could hear the porch swing squeak
the gentle rhythym of the excess chain
at the top clanging against the chain
holding the swing as it rocked back and forth

i could see grandpa in the garage
making sure his fishing poles were
in order and motor fine tuned
i could smell the mixture of smells
fertilizer, gas, grandpa's cigar
all mixed together
it was a good smell when all combined

i could see grandma picking cherries
and filling the sink with water to pit them
bobby pins all lined up
that was her pitting tool of choice

i could see grandpa in the rose garden
a whole empty lot to one side of the house
he was so proud of them, so beautiful
he had hundreds of roses

i could see grandma with her old
butcher knife cutting cabbage
and wiping the blade on her apron
in the garden, a whole empty lot
on the other side of the house

drove by grandma and grandpa's house today
no roses, no garden, no fruit trees
only grass, lots of grass

i think of how time passes
for the child off in the summer
it goes so fast
for the years of memories and love
and pictures in our minds
it is all just in the blink of an eye

as physical appearances
of places and ourselves change
we can always be the child
off for the summer visiting grandma
and grandpa in our minds where
time is eternal and they are still
alive where the smells and sights
and sounds will never go away.

MSM 2004

1 Comments:

At 4:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My, God, Junie, you're gonna kill me as I'm drowning in my own tears here.
As I know of these people, I say publish this!!!
Sis

 

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