Do you know why I love the holiday season? It's the time of year when people become more appreciative of their loved ones and all the little things that they do. I was feeling especially grateful and wrote this poem thinking of my Grandma Dolly, the cutest woman you will ever meet. I hope reading this serves as a reminder to give the gift of presence this year and to celebrate every moment shared with your family.
Dolly
A brittle spirit
with fragile movements,
goes about her day
trying not to break even more.
Her back has felt
an unbearably heavy burden.
The ache of a lifetime
has leaked into her soul.
Her daughter wets a brush
and calms her white hair down.
Swapping the roles
well known and rehearsed.
Each movement is a struggle,
a dual effort.
Wishing for time to be reversed
and arguments to be undone.
While I kneel by her side,
she grasps my hand
and holds it tight.
Shaking it.
out of love and gratitude
for pushing her and
visiting her in that
cold asylum.
"I want to go home."
She says to me.
And it hurts me
to know she never will.
And I wonder
if she knows it too.
Whether she knows the
piano we sat behind is gone.
Whether she knows how much
weight she has lost.
Whether she knows how immensely
i love her.
When I say goodbye,
she holds me close like
all she has is me.
Not wanting a second to be wasted
And it makes me wonder.
If this, one day,
will be my destiny.
