For Grandfather

it's been so long since 
i have seen you Grandfather
with your watch twisted so
the face is inward (my 
brother still wears his 
like that, you know,
Grandfather)   my mother
told me last week your
heart was failing fast
when was the last time
you took your car up to
the Monument?   did you
drive as slowly as you
always did?  i know you've
not been very happy since 
your beloved Mabel died,
Grandfather   i think you 
are not unhappy to go to
be with her   my mother says 
you've had a full life
Grandfather  i wish i had 
been a greater part of it
but isn't that what always
gets said at times like 
this?  i remember your grand
old house you sold ten years 
or so ago   i loved the trees
and swings you had and the 
picnics up above the valley
on the Monument where the
setting sun would touch the
red cliffs and merge and set
its torch to them   there is 
no way to say how much i am
diminished by your passing   i 
hope Grandfather that you go 
content and at peace with
yourself and your God


			11 May 1990 12:02 am