My grandfather has gone off with the fairies
for what may be the last time.

Because we love him,
we held him down to Earth;
tied by a shoestring to a blade of grass.

As he once told me,
if you love someone,
you must let them go.

Because he loves us,
he trusts it is ok
for him to leave now:

He abandons behind
his memory,
a beating heart,
and some footsteps,
we must now fill.

Grandpa has gone off with the fairies,
where he’ll be kept warm and safe,
far from the cold hands
of an Earth
he once loved.

And as for us,
we’re left with a
choice:

to cry in his absence
or to remember,
the duties he gave us;

to make this Earth

a little kinder,
a little safer,
a little happier,

One day at a time.


- For Raymond.