big-eyed as Bambi, gangly,
high on quality, but not
well liked except by his
closest comrades who spent hours
in his office, chatting, dreaming,
planning, how to follow where
he led when layoffs came –
I was uncommon, maybe
even odd, but he still took
a chance and hired me
new grandpa – first in my
generation! – of twins! I want
to watch him and my sister
get born into grandparenthood –
it sounds like fun from
what I’ve heard and
I hope they get lots of
toys and games for Christmas
so they have them handy
when the kids come over
the last time
I visited Tell City
when we drove 2223 miles
east for Christmas
my grandfather gave me
some money
so I could buy myself
something to open
I bought myself some shampoo
and an alarm clock and
opened them
in a festive circle of elderly
sitting on chairs
one of those super competent
LPNs who embody the “practical”
in their title, busy in her
white coat hustling from
one patient to another at
the clinic, glasses dangling round
her neck, trailed by smiles
at her wry humor and
her contentment with her life,
her job, her role – well gifted
plagued with a variety of
syndromes – acne, FAS?, poor personal
hygiene, nearsightedness, bad teeth, and
then she got bitten by
a spider – see what that
venom can do to tender
belly skin – she was also
blessed with the caring of
her younger sister who changed
her dressings til it healed
exotic antidote to all my
childhood nuns – braids, beatup
cowboy boots, yellow pickup truck
with camper, basement apartment
shared with the black widows who
got friendly on the mission grounds –
of her mission, I had no idea,
solitary, saint or social worker,
daily she drove off into
Colville’s wild stillness
round man, freckled, bald, a
painful smile, red suspenders –
curious artifacts surfaced and
spoke loudly to me after he was
gone – in local copystore, a
wooden ruler clearly bore his
name; his war years’ poetry
read by his wife, Ruth;
for sale, his stringed instrument
collection – I have his mandolin