I met my girlfriends family today
Northerners
It was her grandad on her father's sides
Ninetieth birthday but you couldn't tell!
Congratulations
We go out for a meal, enjoying the laughs
They thought I couldn't eat
The giant whaler portion
Of fish and chips

"It's got nowhere to go!"
"Y'don't get fish like that down south"
"You'll never finish that."
"Are you struggling?"
"Good luck with that!"

I only went and ate it all didn't I
Proved them wrong and now I think
I may never ever eat again
A fully suppressed appetite forever
All to make a point and to be
Accepted

To be fair though,
We don't get fish like that down south and
I would eat the giant whaler portion again
Provided someone's doubt in my ability to
Actually eat it swayed me from the large

I remember my old Grampa
And the way he used to look
He had so many stories
He was much better than a book

I remember on our visits
While the folks would head outside
Gramps would get us grandkids
And take us for a story ride

He'd hitch up the hay wagon
We'd get up and off we'd go
Then gramps would start to talking
And so began the show

He'd tell us all the stories
Of our folks when they were young
Some he had to censor,
And sometimes bite his tongue

Now, Grandpa told the stories
Whether we were in or out
And we'd all sit and listen
To what they were all about

When we'd gather by the fire
He'd pull up his rocking chair
He'd have his pipe and all us grandkids
And his dog, Whiskey, always there

We'd all sit in front of Grandpa
We'd want to take in every word
And he would speak up louder
To make sure that we heard

He'd tell us tales of Cowboys
Of bank robbers and the trail
Of how the west became the west
And how his horse once lost his tail

The folks would gather round too
When it was almost time to go
But, Grandpa, being Grandpa
Wasn't set to end the show

See, he'd told the tales forever
To our folks and all their friends
You could tell that some were truthful
And in some the truth....well....bends

The older ones among us
Knew deep down that most were fake
But, to see old Grandpa work the room
Man, that man just took the cake

We'd get together monthly
All us kids stayed close to home
We weren't like lots of others
Who had that built in urge to roam

The stories, we'd learn later
Were mostly from TV
He'd be talking of those cowboys
And of how things used to be

A few years back we lost him
His dog had up and died
Gramps old heart was broken
He couldn't take it, though he tried

My brother tells the stories,
Not as good as Gramps at rhyme
But, the kids all hunker round him
I'm sure that he'll be good in time

We still go on the hayrides
Tell ghost stories now instead
To all us grown up grandkids
We still hear grandpa in our head

Each month we get together
There's near a hundred now in all
The kids go with my brother
And he tells tales ten feet tall

The stories are consistent
Of old cowboys and the west
I can close my eyes and listen
And still like Grandpa's versions best

He had a hole in his had
That thing that is dead
Grandad use to wake him up by pinching his toes
But no one knows that he is a demon
Waiting for you to fall asleep
And close your eyes
That beautiful creature in the night
Cut out his eyes
Sliced off his nose
His lips were already gone
He could talk to grandad no more
He lives in the scary
But he can see clearly in the dark
He blows out the candles to make himself feel better
Hell cut off your toes and make himself some clothes
That's what happens when there's a blanket over your head
He killed your dad and now he's dead
Where's mom
Eek
He's behind
Her shadow
He's getting her now too
And there's blood poring from her shoes
You are barely breathing and your color is draining
Outside its raining to wash away the blood
In the morning there'll be bags and bodies and a crowd
But right now
Shows over and your feet are mangled over the bed they dangle
Now he can see them from a better angle

The moon was a ball of white in the night,
The Stars filling the world with light.
Little stars in the dark sky glistened,
As I sat down to listen.

All these problems inside my head,
Why can't I sleep in my bed.
All these lonely thoughts they drive me to the moon,
My dear, my dear, I hope I see you soon.

For I would jump over the moon,
Oh darling come back soon.
It is not the same when your not here, no matter what I do.
My life is incomplete if I don't spend it with you.

Yes, I will never forget you and your sweet smelling hair,
And how your smile is so fair,
The funny clothes that you wear.
Without you my life is incomplete,
Just one last time, can we not meet.

As your spirit goes up to the sky,
I find myself wondering why,
Oh why, oh why, did you die...

Time can never be wasted on a good man
A man with a heart as pure as love
Even when the darkness surrounded him
And a ghostly whisper of silence
Echoed through our thoughts
A flower would bloom on the very same day
Keeping the darkness and pain at bay

If only you have seen him then
So joyful, happy and bold
It was as if the sun itself nurtured him
Not only the seeds he had sewn
He was the life and soul of the garden
A beauty and sight to behold
But at the plants shred their leaves
So should he as the days and nights become cold

Every flower has it's poison
A nector so sinister yet sweet
He was no exception to the rule
A bottle of whiskey lay at his feet
I wish we could have seen a forwarning
Signs that would of led us to help
But he was always so very stubborn
Trying his hardest to keep us out

A petal itself is fragile and delicate
As fragile and delicate as we
A simple rip in the time line
And we all would never be
He was aware of this burden
But he faced it without fear
He was strong to the very end
For only the living shred a tear

Although you now have past and your physical form no longer remains we know that your life and soul will go on in the Holly hocks that bloomed on that day.
We love you and always will and when we look upon the Holly Hocks all the memories we have will be of you.

Are we nearly there Dad?
Is it very far?
Oh he is going to drive me mad
We had just got in the car

Are we nearly there Dad?
Have we far to go?
Oh God this is bad
We had only gone a mile or so

Are we nearly there Dad?
Is it far away?
Why don’t you take out your i-pad
There must be games you can play

Are we nearly there Dad?
I really have to ***
I know this is sad
I think he’s doing this deliberately

Are we nearly there Dad?
Is it much further?
I’m losing what patience I had
I will be done for ******.

Are we nearly there Dad?
This is taking a long time
Please, please stop asking lad
Before I commit an awful crime

Are we nearly there Dad?
This is not much fun
You are getting on my nerves a tad
Please give it over Son

Are we nearly there Dad?
I am feeling very sick
Just one more problem to add
I am at the end of my wick

Are we nearly there Dad?
I am really bored
I hope this is just a fad
He might stop if he’s ignored

Are we nearly there Dad?
He asked rather sleepily
If he sleeps I will be glad
I thought, rather guiltily

Are we nearly there Dadeeee?
He started to whine
Why must he keep on and on at me
I really feel like crying

Are we nearly there Dad?
I said yes, five minutes more
It was a white lie, what a cad
But at last, I heard him snore.

Are we nearly there Dad?
I said "yes son, eventually"
“I just want to go home Dad!!”
he began screaming incessantly

Are we nearly there Dad?
Louder and louder he screams
It’s been years since those trips we had
But I still hear him in my dreams!

Are we nearly there Grandad?
my grandchildren ask me now
these days I don't find it too bad
I've gotten used to it somehow!