My Gramps

When I was a girl I knew a man
Who had a smile and a farmer’s tan.
He was lean and strong and worked very hard
He was agile and quick and so full of charm.
He protected me and kept me safe,
And comforted me in his warm embrace.
We did chores together around the farm
Feeding the animals and watering the lawn.
We drank from the garden hose, which I thought was neat,
And before dinner we would wash our “front feet.”
He took me along to the hardware store and barber shop.
He was my Gramps, and I was his Pork Chop.
When he spoke of his daughters he’d puff up with pride.
When he wore a hat, it was cocked to one side.
He had quite a talent for telling old stories
Some funny, some sad, but none of them boring.
I remember him telling a certain tall tale
How he built Cavenall Hill with his shovel and pail.
He loved animals of all shapes and size.
He liked country music on KFDI.
He wore coveralls when doing his chores.
In cars he liked Lincolns, for pickup trucks Fords.
He always drank coffee from morning till night.
He always referred to his wife as “My Bride.”
While Grams fixed us supper he’d reach out and pinch her
Then smile and wink and say “I think I’ll keep her.”
He asked for his meat to be “double well done.”
And every waitress he had was called “hon.”
He hated the cold, but didn’t mind heat.
He thought every wound needed Campho Phenic.
He liked Dukes of Hazard, Gunsmoke and He Haw,
Old cowboy movies, Wheel of Fortune and Matlock.

As I grew older my Gramps got old too
And there were some things he could no longer do.
He gave up his hog farm and pen full of chickens
But he never got too old to give us the dickens!
The gray at his temples had slowly spread
And tresses of silver now covered his head.
He and my Grams were always holding hands
They were an example of true love and romance.
He could talk your ear off over current events
And tell you exactly how the world could be fixed.
He was always ready to tell you a joke
He always used matches to light up his smokes.
He was always asking, “Now what did she say?”
But insisted he didn’t need no hearing aid!
He loved getting together with all five of his girls
And when we acted silly he called us all squirrels.
His friends numbered dozens, some old and some new
He thought of most of them as family too.
He loved his little dog Pug beyond measure.
All of his grandbabies were his special treasure.
A Kansas man with an Okie boy’s heart,
He left on this world an indelible mark.
He left us one morning so peaceful and easy,
While holding the hand of the wife he loved dearly.
One of these days when my time is through
My turn will come to leave this world too.
And when I get to heaven I’ll be met by a man
Who will smile and laugh and reach out his hands.
He’ll be young and joyful and in perfect health
The loved ones around him will count as his wealth.
I will run to his arms and he’ll give me a hug
And I’ll know that this is who he always was.
-Heather Nall 2008