Ain’t Youth Grand?

For youth it seems,

That time goes backwards-

The older they get,

the less time they have

To make memories

With the oldest in their lives

To hold their hand

and learn from them

Take photos and dance

Sing together or laugh

To ask them questions

That we don’t think of

Until we are older and it’s too late

We wonder later why we never asked

But we were too young and in love

Exploring the world from the ground

Somewhere between then and growing tall

We learn at a young age

That grief is a part of life

We reach for the hand of a grandparent

Only to remember we might

be able to reach them now

But they aren’t there anymore

My dad taught my son to play chess

He taught my daughter to cook

And he sang songs to my youngest

He danced with my oldest

Whilst ‘Fly me to the moon’ was playing

Her face went bright red

But she couldn’t stop smiling

He had a pingu gibberish language

With my youngest daughter

That left them both in stitches!

He helped them engrave their names

On padlocks and linked them all

Onto a tourist lookout fence

He showed them how to use his telescope

He left them all his musical instruments

And he left me his home-

But I have a photo of each memory

To pass onto my kids one day

When they reach for their Grumpy

And remember he isn’t there anymore.

~~THANKYou for reading 🕊️