When your music entered my life
I was thirteen years old
I was a woman
when your music entered my soul
And like a thread knotted and sewn
from then until now
you've been there
through the breakups
and breakdowns
as dependable as the changing of the seasons
And guiding me forward
toward the twilight sky
I dreamt about you
I touched your flanneled arm
And you took my hand
I can feel the pressure of your grip
Smell the cotton of your shirt
I can see you smile at me
as I bond with your Mom
And I wake with you in my heart
My father was not the most demonstrative man
With a heart full of love and eyes full of tears
he tended to keep his affection and words to himself
When he brought a Claddagh ring*
back from a visit to Ireland
he was so silenced by emotion
that he failed to tell me it was no ordinary ring
When I had it sized for my right hand
my mother asked, "What are you doing?"
"Your father specifically bought it
to replace your engagement ring."
*a symbol of friendship (cairdeas), love (grá) and loyalty (dÃlseacht)
Even if I had all my dreams come true:
a home on the beach
obedient children
It would be a nightmare to be with you.
Imagine if Amelia Earhart had survived her round-the-world flight
and lived well into her 90s
How much of that adventurous spirit would have survived
in the frail frame
with arms barely able to steady a control wheel?
Would there still be a glint in her eye
or a smile to betray the daredevil inside?
Your grandmother has still got it
she hasn't played basketball since 1948
but her hand-eye coordination is impressive
when it comes to tossing the remote
But her legs are weak
and her memory poor
and sometimes she even needs to be reminded of your name
Who will I be when my body is a withering casing of my former self?
