I must write about you
for the next generation,
and the next, and the next,
for they will not have the good fortune
to have known you in this life.
I may write about how
you found your wife,
walking on a road near Mascoutah,
You talked, and I think offered her a ride,
you, a serviceman stationed there,
and you and her made plans
for a life full of love,
for a home full of kids,
and after you returned from overseas,
that is exactly what you did together.
Your mother was mad
you went to see your future wife
before you went to see her,
and so it goes.
I will write about your politics
and how it took me
at least 5 years
of sitting in your living room
to get used to the constant opinionated challenges
being thrown about
to realize
it didn’t matter if I disagreed with your view
as long as I spoke my mind.
All opinions respected
but you had to have a brain
and be willing to banter back and forth.
I could write
about how you cried
at the slightest things
in your later years,
emotional in your 90s,
well it’s about time, old man.
I will have to write
about how you voted
for the first Black President in America
because the party you were loyal to
disappointed and betrayed you,
that party didn’t give you
all your due
in your later years of life.
Oh my God, how we will miss you,
how we will hold you in our hearts!
You stubborn soul, still, you supported us
and loved to have family around,
We were always welcome
at your table
or to sit in your living room,
ALL the TIMES we played euchre
in the kitchen,
ALL the JOYS of this life
and its cares,
We cannot imagine life without you,
We cannot believe you won’t be there.
We are happy for you in your journey
to leave us and move on to there,
All roads lead us to one another,
All paths will bring us together.
Doctor Grandma 
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