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 smelled like a fall evening –
                      the distinct mix of dusty leaves, hay, and candy apples
                                          combined with pumpkins and acorns.
So I let him take my hand, his fingers weaving in between mine,
                  the way the October stars gently twisted through the sky.
                                            And we stood and looked up.
For the longest time, there was silence save for the sound of
                  a seventy-year old’s clapping shoes as she strolled across the
                            dance floor, on her way to do-si-do with her husband.
Appalachian hills gleamed under the harvest moon, as he smiled,
                      asked if I would like to run through the corn maze with him.
I said yes, of course I would, and would he be able to keep up with
                     the six-year old sprinters who would beat us to the finish?
He laughed, and the clouds overhead dispersed, revealing only velvet atmosphere.
                                   We ran for minutes, tripping over our
shoelaces, occasionally being startled by the tractor toting happy families
                                        who were on hayrides together. But we made it
To the finish, where we collapsed on the cool dirt, grasping our sides and
                                         laughing as loud as we could.

As much as you Autumn, you can never orange a jaundiced epiphany.
you can only prune the prunes and filibuster rainbows to the spectrum of your grief.
within these margins find release at your perils relief.
******* to the sticking place, all the wandering reasons
to remain Unremained in a place Unbeen.

All the while, sleeping in the forge…
we cobble our stones into cairns
of unrivaled dyslexia. we Ambien in the thicket
and snap twigs.

craven are we -
in the manner of hollow wolves.
or hayrides in Antarctica.
we thought we could master
the average plague
with extraordinary sermons
to serve as serum and solace
but Certainty shackled to blind suns
see only the
Name.

Blessed are the young for their innocence and wonderment , for bright eyes and cheerful smiles ! Little ladies in training with tea sets , dolls and easy bake ovens . Young boys with frogs in their pockets , baseball caps , ***** from head to toe ! For their first day at school and precious artwork posted on the refrigerator door ! Hayrides and trick or treat , Cub Scout and Brownie field trips , bicycles , bonfires , marshmallows and Hershey bars ! Christmas songs , snowmen and sleigh rides ! Flying kites in March , warm April mornings , Summer vacations in June and July ! A prayer for the children tonight , tucked away in warm beds , safe , filled with imagination , joyous for their first peeks of sunshine at Dawn ! Saturday morning Pop Tarts and Nestles Quik , Bugs Bunny , Spiderman and the Banana Splits !

Soon
Autumn's grand parade will clamor
      through the streets
Drumbeats
Chilly harvest of marching bands
      and hayrides
      The ebbing tides
of long days
Confetti blown from reluctant trees
Fluttering ochres and rocketing rubies
As nature lets the clock run out

Blow summer a sweet kiss goodbye --

Home
Where the cattle roam
Home
Fixing feance all day long

Living on a farm
Has a speacial charm
That really makes it the life to live
Family dinners
Fishing in the pond
BBQs
And much much more

Home
Hauling hay
Home
Mowing grass
Or chasing a cow
That's gone stray

Watching your kids play
Catch fireflies at night
Laying in the yard
Looking up at the stars

Home
Home grown fruits and vegitables
Straight from the garden
Home
Hayrides and bonfires
In the fall

County fairs
Family outings
All this make the country life
HOME

BBQ
Superbowl party
New Years Eve Party
4th of July party
With friends I'll never forget

Hayrides
Float trips
Hiking
Having fun
With friends I'll never forget

Driving across state
Driving across the country
Just crusin around town
With friends I'll never forget

Fishing
Working cattle
Fixing fence
Hauling hay
With friends I'll never forget