May 2016
At the time
Only a sing-song of words
A small poem
By a grandma
Could not have been more loved
By a young girl who got a ribee
‘A ribee
A ribee
Melissa got a ribee’
The poem chanted from the stands
Of the small softball field
A fleck in the eye of nature
And the world in the eye
of a young girl
A young girl who had the love that
Middle aged men wake up
In the middle of the night
Crying out
For
But all Melissa knew
Was that she had
a ribee
And a few verses to praise such a small feat
Which watered it into a moment of glory
In this way
Life’s moments of glory
Are only so
Because of great strokes of love
Painted on their grain
So a few years later
And a few moments wiser
And a few words more thoughtful
A young girl thanks you
For your great stokes of love
Which have turned her life from a ribee
Into a homerun
For I hope you know
How your soft curls and kind blue eyes
Tell the story of a self-less love
The kind of love
So gentle that it sneaks up behind you
And warms you up
Like socks after ice skating
and laughter after dinner
and holding hands after a long day
and a poem after a ribee
the kind of love that tingles
not burns
and is steady
not infrequent
For you, my lovely grandma,
Are fluent in a language
That breathes in every country
A language many labor for lifetimes to comprehend
And for centuries to speak
But, you speak this language
In natural whispers
A stream to a pond
A horse to a field
A chime to a summer’s afternoon
You speak this language through
Small actions and fluid motions
Easing the stress of the world
With yet another moment of love
For even in a hospital bed
You ask about my bed
And my adventures
My foolish problems of a young heart
Running around the world
Running into pretend issues
Running into new nouns
And wanting so much to run into your arms
So you can welcome me home
And so I can thank you
For your thousands of moments
With one small moment
And I think of that moment
A kiss on the cheek
An ear for your words
A moment with your love
Because I love you
And because I want to love
Like you do
Only a sing-song of words
A small poem
By a grandma
Could not have been more loved
By a young girl who got a ribee
‘A ribee
A ribee
Melissa got a ribee’
The poem chanted from the stands
Of the small softball field
A fleck in the eye of nature
And the world in the eye
of a young girl
A young girl who had the love that
Middle aged men wake up
In the middle of the night
Crying out
For
But all Melissa knew
Was that she had
a ribee
And a few verses to praise such a small feat
Which watered it into a moment of glory
In this way
Life’s moments of glory
Are only so
Because of great strokes of love
Painted on their grain
So a few years later
And a few moments wiser
And a few words more thoughtful
A young girl thanks you
For your great stokes of love
Which have turned her life from a ribee
Into a homerun
For I hope you know
How your soft curls and kind blue eyes
Tell the story of a self-less love
The kind of love
So gentle that it sneaks up behind you
And warms you up
Like socks after ice skating
and laughter after dinner
and holding hands after a long day
and a poem after a ribee
the kind of love that tingles
not burns
and is steady
not infrequent
For you, my lovely grandma,
Are fluent in a language
That breathes in every country
A language many labor for lifetimes to comprehend
And for centuries to speak
But, you speak this language
In natural whispers
A stream to a pond
A horse to a field
A chime to a summer’s afternoon
You speak this language through
Small actions and fluid motions
Easing the stress of the world
With yet another moment of love
For even in a hospital bed
You ask about my bed
And my adventures
My foolish problems of a young heart
Running around the world
Running into pretend issues
Running into new nouns
And wanting so much to run into your arms
So you can welcome me home
And so I can thank you
For your thousands of moments
With one small moment
And I think of that moment
A kiss on the cheek
An ear for your words
A moment with your love
Because I love you
And because I want to love
Like you do
