To my Grandmother, 2013

Grandmother thank you for welcoming me into your home

This time is treasured, as I am a man who makes the most of every day I have

Knowing not of the morrow, if sunrise will welcome my gaze

I see such determination in you to do the same

To make the most of every sequence or rising at the dawn

To say a rosary for those in need, seeking solace in the kindness

Blessed upon what others may see of your twice widowed life

And see reason to rest in remorse

You are a testament to volition, to be a grand example of love for fear of crying

I see your tenderness break upon the waves of wanting happiness for your children

And your children’s children and the bayou reverberates with such humble currents

The hundred-hour pin on your maroon volunteer vest for the Veterans hospital

Shines like the love for my grandfather, that you have not forgotten for a day

Wanting what he would want for you; your own pursuit of happiness

To live not as if the coffin embodies your daily dress, but as a woman

Determined to dance, sing and cherish every rain drop, recycling the resources

Wasting not and ever mindful of the dangers of forgetting what could be

And the risk of taking a set of hours for granted, as your dearest Joseph

Was taken so young in mind from the shrapnel bearings shedding metallic mind-thieves

Into his blood sneaking in the Alzheimer’s with his countless crawfish sacks and spools of string

The careful phone calls to the Expressway drug store, the errand that never was

Knowing the unfairness of a man served his country after catching all those turtles

Out of the swamp and into a shell in his own mind at such a young age

I never really knew him, but I see pieces of him in your love

Your prayers, your openness to keep living and make a life with Mr. Raymond

Only to face a second term of perseverance; I see such strength in you grandmother

As I go these days of building my new career; back in my home town; you have offered me your home to be mine as you have done so and so before for your children and your children’s children; I love you grandmother; I will always remember making jambalaya and shrimp pasta in your kitchen listening to Woody Guthrie’s Lady’s Auxiliary is the very best auxiliary and being so very proud I come from you.