by JustMe ~I'm happy to be~
Member since:
August 16, 2008

~I Never Thought~

January 07, 2012 09:12 AM UTC
views: 0 | 14 people recommend this | comments: 47

 

 

 

 

 

 



I never thought the picture

of him would fade
Or the sharp features
of his face would blur
like paint in the rain
streaming, streaming
over the surface of time
Yet as each sunrise
passes to sunset
no matter how much I try
to conjure up his face
or whisper his name to the wind
I am losing the man I love
even the sound of his voice
has receded into a distant corner
And the twinkle in his eyes
I so clearly remembered
now sand tossed by
the ebb and tide of
the undulating waves

I never thought the picture

Comments: 47

JOHN BECK Jan 7, 2012, 9:23am UTC
Beautiful use of simile and metaphor, Michelle. A moving piece.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 9:24am UTC
I love him and miss him so much and I get nervous when I feel like my memories of him are slipping away.

Thanks, dear John.
JOHN BECK Jan 7, 2012, 9:26am UTC
I grew up knowing all 4 grandparents and I got to know Barbaras 4 as well. She knew two great grandfathers when she was a child, both of them having lived to 100.
As different as my two grandfathers were, I looked up to both as role models in their own ways.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 9:28am UTC
I was much closer with my mother's parents. My grandfather was my role model - 100%. A man of integrity, kindness, who put family first and was very generous. He was Atticus Finch, to life.
JOHN BECK Jan 7, 2012, 9:45am UTC
My maternal grandfather was a tall, quiet, compulsive dentist who lived in Chicago. My paternal grandfather was a short, stocky, gregarious, playful self-made man and lived in Pittsburgh, several days travel away in those days.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 10:00am UTC
I can see the influences of both, in you.
JOHN BECK Jan 7, 2012, 10:59am UTC
:)
Diane Huizenga Jan 7, 2012, 9:25am UTC
I know what you mean, I for the life of me can hardly remember what my dad's voice sounded like. I have to watch videos to remember.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 9:27am UTC
Sigh..........

Thanks for being here, Diane.
Barbara H. Jan 7, 2012, 4:05pm UTC
I think one of these days you will hear a voice that you think is his and come to attention. I think it is just the way our heart keeps us atuned.There will always be something retained of him...that is the gift of memory.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 4:07pm UTC
I would love that, Barbara. Thanks for your kind comment, friend.
Christina A. Jan 7, 2012, 9:26am UTC
Nice poem.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 9:27am UTC
Thank you, Christina.
Darin Waugh Jan 7, 2012, 9:28am UTC
Nice!
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 9:29am UTC
Thanks, Darin!
Alas, such is most often the way of it ... the images fade. Yet, at times, they come sharply back in focus - more often than not triggered by something such as a melody wafting from the radio but also in idle daydreams or dreams when asleep.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 10:00am UTC
Yes, so true, my friend.
David W. Jan 7, 2012, 10:20am UTC
My father's father died when my dad was a kid. The only grandfather I knew is a story unto himself. I've touched on him in previous stories. Suffice to say he was my personal time machine carrying me back to the past and regaling with stories of another life.

Your poem is a doorway to my heart and awakened beautiful memories.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 10:23am UTC
No comment could be more meaningful to me. Thank you, dear David.
Richard Thuss Jan 7, 2012, 1:10pm UTC
If you are thinking that because the image fades that your memory of him will fade also, don't because it will not. I truly believe that love survives death on both sides of the veil, and your memories of him will return often.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 1:13pm UTC
I was worried, but the more I thought about it, Richard, the more I realized exactly what you just said was true. Thank you and Happy New Year! xx
Len Maxwell Jan 7, 2012, 1:35pm UTC
I think the other comments have pointed out that you can take comfort in the fact that the memories of him will never really fade.

Thanks for posting to the Wall of Memories on The Triple Name Club where it's now featured.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 1:40pm UTC
Thank you so much, Len. And thank you for the feature.
Kathryn Flynn Jan 7, 2012, 1:44pm UTC
Grandfathers are so special and I love your memories of him. I remember "his hands" - such a special write. My grandfather looked like Gary Cooper in his cowboy boots. He was 6 foot tall, even though he was only 5 foot 8.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 1:59pm UTC
Yes, I write about my grandfather often, and share only some pieces.

Thanks, friend.
Kathryn Flynn Jan 7, 2012, 2:31pm UTC
:)
Danielle Ackerman Jan 7, 2012, 2:23pm UTC
This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing with me. :)
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 2:33pm UTC
And thank YOU, Danielle.
Danielle Ackerman Jan 9, 2012, 8:15pm UTC
You're welcome :)
A. F. Stewart Jan 7, 2012, 4:16pm UTC
A beautiful poem.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 10:58pm UTC
Thanks!
Chris Brockman Jan 7, 2012, 6:25pm UTC
A week ago I was sitting with my father in the garden of the Florida nursing home where his wife has him interred, and he said "I wish your mother was here." It's been almost 20 years. I wonder if his memories are fading as mine are.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 11:01pm UTC
aaahhh...sigh......xx
Karen E. Jan 7, 2012, 8:39pm UTC
A generous gift JM.
I was walking in the woods this morning and thought..."If I knew there were one last thing my eyes could see and would always see, could I choose just one out of all these beautiful images?" It is so with the ones we love. As if they were frozen in time, in our time of remembering. When my younger brother passed I had no seen him for so many years. He and his family moved far away and our journeys did not bring us together except by phone. I was not able to attend his services as I was caring for my Mom ( who also could not go). We looked at photos and that helped so much.
Lovely and tender memories. Though touching, it has an edge of the pain of loss. So true to our journey.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 11:03pm UTC
Your comment moved me so deeply. Thank you, dear friend.
Karen E. Jan 8, 2012, 1:21am UTC
'...as your words always capture my heart. Have a blessed weekend.
elizabeth evans Jan 7, 2012, 8:58pm UTC
I think you retain the "spirit" of the loved one more so then the actual image. From experience, it seems when I think of my son, my Mom or my Dad, it's the image of a photograph of them that I recall.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 7, 2012, 11:04pm UTC
Love you, bob.
dianne j. Jan 8, 2012, 9:18pm UTC
I was never very close to any of my grandparents. I never knew one of my grandfathers. The grandmother who lived with us disliked me and treated me poorly. My other grandmother never spoke English (and I didn't speak Arabic). I wish I had taken the time to know my Lebanese grandfather better.

You are lucky to have had that special relationship and no amount of time will rob you of the wonderful memories you have. It isn't his voice or his face that matter. It is his love.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 9, 2012, 4:05pm UTC
Thank you, dearest Dianne. And thank you for all of your comments; I read and savored each one.
Marianne K. Jan 9, 2012, 1:54am UTC
Michelle, the loss of a loved will never fade, and sometimes the pain will even intensify, but I think it is our very own fear that makes us think we are 'losing' them. The more precious they were to us, the more tightly we want to preserve the memory of them.
Well, that's what I believe although I have not known my father nor any grandparents.
But I have friends who've lost loved ones, and I share their pain...sigh!

xoxox
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 9, 2012, 4:06pm UTC
xoxox
Irina Dimitric Jan 9, 2012, 11:17pm UTC
What a privilege to have had such a lovely grandfather. As others have said you needn't fear the memory of him will fade, your bond of love will stay for ever.

Beautiful poem!
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jan 10, 2012, 5:35am UTC
Thank you, Irina!
ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ Jul 19, 2012, 6:03pm UTC
Love never fades and memories cannot be taken away.
JustMe ~I'm happy to be~ Jul 19, 2012, 6:06pm UTC
Carol, he was Atticus Finch, only real. A role model to me and I adored him.

My fears have not been realized, fully. I can still see him, feel his presence, hear him.....
ʚϊɞ Carol ʚϊɞ Jul 20, 2012, 2:32pm UTC
What a blessing that you feel his presence.

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