Grandma's Faded Dreams
Dad’s mother never recognized me
She would just lie in bed before a TV
And I always wondered why she blankly stared
At a screen filled with snowy images, as if she never cared
In my childhood years, I couldn’t relate
How grandma had reached this dreadful state
I thought of her as oblivious and introverted
But she’d been that way since her husband deserted
Dad was but four and his sister one
When the family unit came undone
There were times grandma would glance at photos by her bed
Faded images of ancestors long dead
It wasn’t until I was twelve years old
On a Christmas Day with temperatures cold
That my father received the distressing call
And down his face a tear did fall
The call from a half-brother he’d never known
Bore a message that chilled Dad to the bone
“Our father’s gone,” this stranger said
Dad turned and related, “Your grandfather’s dead.”
At the funeral we met uncles Bob and Tom
Upon viewing the casket, we strove to remain calm
This man who looked so much like Dad
Had remarried without divorcing, yet we were sad
A bigamist who’d left his wife to waste away
Heavy on my heart, grandma’s plight did weigh
Now I knew why her mind had been cast adrift
And why through old memories she’d always sift
Dad treated grandma with compassion and respect
But upon her death, Dad did reflect
On his only childhood memory of joy
A trip with his father to Coney Island for a four-year-old boy
*Entry for Carol’s “Memories of Grandma or Grandpa” contest
Copyright © Carolyn Devonshire | Year Posted 2011
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