Grandad

You know when you are growing up The stages you go through Make you the way you are They help to make you...YOU The people who you deal with Whether family or your friends Are very influential And they're with you 'till the end But little things they tell you Might get on your last nerve You know you sometimes hate them And it's not something they deserve I miss my Grandad fiercely Now, more than before I wish I'd listened closely And I wish I'd listened more You know the tales that old folks tell The one's we love to hate Like "you've not got it hard boy" "You've got it bloody great" We all know about the walk to school The uphill walk both ways About how they only had an orange And it had to last four days You know they meant the best for you But, that's not how it came off You'd love to go and visit But, you also loved to scoff Times were always harder then You never knew what you had At least that was the feeling That I got from my Grandad They all got married younger They were stronger in their minds We were lazy, non-commital To hard work, we were blind So, every time a visit Came around, I'd ask to stay I'd rather be at home alone Than with Grandad for the day But, one day changed my feelings I learned what Grandad was about When I went there for a visit And my Grandad took me out We went out for a road trip That my parents did allow And that road trip still stays with me My eyes were opened....wow! He knew I would have rather Stayed at home and not been there But, I went out for my parents And he knew I didn't care First he took me to a building "I'm just here to quaff a brew And while I'm sitting with my cronies There's something you must do." I didn't know it was a legion And he handed me a book He said this was a memoriam And that I should have a look Each face I saw stare back at me Had died before their time They went to fight for freedom Not just theirs, but yours and mine Mere children when you think back now And how they went to war They would forever be this young And would not age forever more Grandad said, "We're going" "We have another stop" And it was at this destination That the other penny dropped He took me to a statue In the park, so resilute It was stone and bronze and copper And my Grandad did salute The cenotaph he called it I'd not heard that name before He said it was a monument To those who'd gone before The names and the young faces That I'd seen that afternoon Were honored by this edifice That stood like a Roman Ruin "Each town" he said gave their young men To make sure Freedom reigned "And each Legion has a book like ours So we don't forget their names" I stepped back from the statue that honored our towns dead He said, "do not salute" "you can stand and bow your head" That day, My Grandad reached out And he made me understand All those things he'd told me And what it takes to be a man Now, years have passed and he is gone I miss him every day "We walked up hill both ways to school" I'd love to hear him say Forty years have come and gone Now, I'm a Grandad too I've two grandkids I'd love to see And, I hope they'd love to see me too But, just like me when I was young They want to live their life They'd rather spend time with their friends Than with their Grandad and his wife. My son dropped by the other day And the kids came to say hi I'd love to see them more than this And that's the reason why I loaded up the car with them "I' won't be long my dear" "We're just off for a short road trip " "Just to go and have a beer" She smiled, she knew the reason And I know that she is glad For I want them to be proud of me Like I was, my Old Grandad.