your home
was full of love
made with care and thought
smelling of lavender furniture polish
the dog
cats and cocky
were all bilingual
you were always
cooking
cooking
hanging salamis and cheeses
making jars of olives pickles
the sideboard packed with coloured glass jars
of turkish delight nougat and sugared almonds
piled fruit on stands looking like
a stage set for a still life renoir painting
as a small child i still have memories of
you in your rimless specs
with a smile
that could bring on world peace
crocheting singing with tino rossi
listening to scratchy LPs
you in your marcel wave hair clips and big starched apron
fragrant with eau de cologne
collapsing with laughter at jerry lewis on tv
pin curling my hair
telling me stories
when those arms of yours
wrapped around me
no one could ever feel more safe and loved
something i cling on to still to keep me going
in a world that has become bereft of people like you
Midweek Motif - PU
Jerry Lewis won the Legion d'Honneur in 2006 . My grandmother picked him as a comic genius and so did the rest of France eventually:)
Oh yes! No place safer than in grandma's arms. I wrote about my grandma's cottage to, the safest place I ever knew. Back then I lived with violent alcoholic parents, so her peaceful life showed me another way to live. I thank God for her. LOVED your poem! So much. She sounds so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou really bring me into her orb, a place which you are blessed to have in your memories. The photo and music help bring the entire atmosphere home. If only her smile and her arms could hold the entire world!
ReplyDeleteHow important family was back then. Grandparents were always delighted to spoil their grandchildren when visited. How much we lose over the years thinking we are doing new and wonderful things when in fact we are doing the opposite because someone else is profiting from us now we are under their spell.
ReplyDeleteThe opening stanza with the smell of lavender furniture polish transported me to my own grandmother’s house and the rest of your poem wrapped me up like a crocheted blanket. We also watched Jerry Lewis on TV!
ReplyDeleteOh this is drenched in the love and safety of your grandma's home I can feel the atmosphere Lovely
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful person to remember - so good to feel safe
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful elegy. She sounds like a very special woman.
ReplyDelete