''Grandpa's Autumn''
Bird songs drift through the tall trees and
photographs are floating in my mind and
conversations echo
in the deep where crumbling amber leaves fall.
I see an old man with a walker- a shadow of a man
his hands are gnarled
his words are blurred and meaningless.
At the cottage pier I see him in my mind
beside the flowing river
the endless winding river . . .
I miss grandpa most when the leaves are falling
and horses gallop in the fields, wild and free
oh, grandpa loved his horses.
The bird feeders that grandpa made are empty
but hopeful birds are twittering still
and my grandpa is gone- yet not gone . . .
I see him fishing off the pier and walking his dog
sitting at the dining room table until he could not
hold a fork anymore . . .
Then an empty hospital bed with the sun shining in
a girl weeping at the living room window
I see all this in my mind
every memory is whispering to me
especially when the horses are running free
and leaves are falling . . .
_________________________
May 12, 2017
Free Verse/"Grandpa's Autumn"
Copyright Protected, ID 900126
Submitted to the contest, Sad Free Verse in 2017 Only
sponsor, Laura Loo
First Place
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