At Grandmother's House by Caro Steven, Mother’s Day, May 9, 2021
The creak of old springs and the song of old tin
The feel of plush carpet, the warbling din
Of the birds on the patio
Touch with your finger
Scrape at the paint chips
The train whistles linger
Down over the Bay where the kiddy pool shimmers
Where old steel horses on metal chains glimmer
And whinnying joyous they leap for the sky
Oh what memory
For you and I
There is nothing like the feel of toy cars
And the old basement train set
(though it wasn't ours)
The babble of pull string from baby doll dear
That once brought such joy but has failed in its years
Memories born like the click and the whirring
Of radio numbers and young children stirring
To go down at eight in the morning (no sooner)
And invest in their games for their plumbers and humour
Of white toast and jam, of soup (chicken noodle),
Of little blue cups and of snacks by the oodles
Of burgers and fries and of church on a Sunday
Of lying in sunbeams in grasses on Monday
Each creak of the stair, each faint nightlight flicker,
Each smell and each sight,
Makes my heart ever sicker
For I long to return to a place that is gone
But the memories stay
And the heart isn't wrong
For though it might break when I think of that place,
Of the people within, of the chaotic pace,
Of the years as a child that I thought nothing of it,
But would pay any price just for one more sight of it
To return to that time for five minutes or less
To be able to say to her she did her best
Though we didn't agree on all things at all times
And sometimes our fights were too much for these rhymes
In the end she did love us and of course it's a given
That any rough patch we might have is forgiven
The memories stay of a house never empty
For how could it be with these thoughts, how they tempt me
If I went there today it would be a shame
It's just a house now
It would not be the same
For it lives in my heart now, that
wonderful time
When I was a child with a heart in my prime
Moreover it's grannie we all know is missing
From her perfumes and dresses
Her humming and kissing
Without her it's only a structure outdoors
It's memories we hold that mean so much more
Every sound every smell
Every voice every song
Every day without school
Empty now, it feels wrong
So I'll hold it all close
Like one holds their spouse
For there wasn't a sad face
at Grandmother's House
The feel of plush carpet, the warbling din
Of the birds on the patio
Touch with your finger
Scrape at the paint chips
The train whistles linger
Down over the Bay where the kiddy pool shimmers
Where old steel horses on metal chains glimmer
And whinnying joyous they leap for the sky
Oh what memory
For you and I
There is nothing like the feel of toy cars
And the old basement train set
(though it wasn't ours)
The babble of pull string from baby doll dear
That once brought such joy but has failed in its years
Memories born like the click and the whirring
Of radio numbers and young children stirring
To go down at eight in the morning (no sooner)
And invest in their games for their plumbers and humour
Of white toast and jam, of soup (chicken noodle),
Of little blue cups and of snacks by the oodles
Of burgers and fries and of church on a Sunday
Of lying in sunbeams in grasses on Monday
Each creak of the stair, each faint nightlight flicker,
Each smell and each sight,
Makes my heart ever sicker
For I long to return to a place that is gone
But the memories stay
And the heart isn't wrong
For though it might break when I think of that place,
Of the people within, of the chaotic pace,
Of the years as a child that I thought nothing of it,
But would pay any price just for one more sight of it
To return to that time for five minutes or less
To be able to say to her she did her best
Though we didn't agree on all things at all times
And sometimes our fights were too much for these rhymes
In the end she did love us and of course it's a given
That any rough patch we might have is forgiven
The memories stay of a house never empty
For how could it be with these thoughts, how they tempt me
If I went there today it would be a shame
It's just a house now
It would not be the same
For it lives in my heart now, that
wonderful time
When I was a child with a heart in my prime
Moreover it's grannie we all know is missing
From her perfumes and dresses
Her humming and kissing
Without her it's only a structure outdoors
It's memories we hold that mean so much more
Every sound every smell
Every voice every song
Every day without school
Empty now, it feels wrong
So I'll hold it all close
Like one holds their spouse
For there wasn't a sad face
at Grandmother's House