Shorts: A Collection

10. Joyce (Poem)

I regret those last few days
Where I didn't call by to see you
I think I was a little afraid
My good memories would suddenly be few.

To see you decline so quickly
Was a shock to my system
But probably more so yours
But I always tried to listen.

I brought my baby to see you
So you could be her friend
I know you loved being part of her life
And you got to see her before the end.

I don't want to remember you
As the dying cancer patient
Or as the feeble bedbound one
Who lost her strength in stages.

I remember you burning the dinner
And putting sugar on my Bran Flakes
How you put salt in everything
And how you loved fruity cakes.

I had a holiday with you in 2009
When you lived out in Spain
I loved every moment together
Even that afternoon it rained.

I love that no matter how long
It had been since we'd seen each other
We'd carry on like no time had passed
Just talking with my grandmother.

I know you lived for seeing the baby
A great-granddaughter to see
She liked smiling and rolling to you
It swelled my heart to see you happy.

Thank you for all the dinner conversations
And the times I could sleep over
For all the trips out together
With my parents and my brother.

Thank you for staying yourself
Even as you were dying
You kept so strong and active
And tried to keep us from crying.

My mother misses you like mad
And I do feel it too
It was so intense towards the end
But you still did what you could do.

I can't wait to see you again
And for my daughter to remember
The love you had for us all
How your spirit wouldn't surrender.

You were loyal and faithful
And to the end you remained so
Your reward will be befitting
When you find your new home.

I miss you so much, Grandma,
And it hurts me to review
But through the memories I want to say:
Grandma, I still love you.