To My Grandson Rowan, Nine Years Old

[edsiejka]

To My Grandson Rowan, Nine Years Old

by Edmund Siejka

We walk side by side
Not saying much
You are tall for your age
But when you speak
I still lean to my right
To listen to your soft voice
And then we walk some more
When suddenly
You say,
“Gramps, you don’t have to hold my hand
I know the way.”
That you do Rowan
That you do.

When you were born
Your mother’s hospital room was a bit crowded
Nurses coming in
To check in on her
The Doctor standing with his arms crossed
And all of us huddled in a corner
Exhausted and afraid.

The Doctor said you were premature
When your father placed you in my arms
I was afraid of your smallness
And how unbelievably thin you were
Secretly I worried that some how
It was all my fault.

And then at six months
You crawled into a sun filled room
Sitting up
Reaching
As high as you could
Catching sunbeams
Dancing in the air.

And then there was that day
Don’t you remember?
When you drew shapes and figures
Colorful stories to the world
Your hair tousled like Einstein’s
And we marveled at your creativity.

Now you’ve grown so much
That I’m afraid if I blink
Your mother will tell me
That you started shaving
Not much she’ll say
Just some
Fine thin hairs
Or what was called in the day ’peach fuzz’.

And then wasn’t it just yesterday when
I sat between you and your brother at dinner
Passing plates, talking and laughing
Until outside,
Beyond our reach,
A black canvas sky
Descended
And then you realized
It was time for all nine year olds to go to bed.

[saw]

excellent poem Ed
pulls at the old heartstrings
and my grandson is 10, so I can relate
he seems to be an old soul
maybe you will spark me to write
my own poem. it's not like I haven't thought about it
and I have plenty to say
thanx again for this ....wow it can go so quickly

[edsiejka]

Hi Saw

Time does go by quickly so my advice is put things aside and write a poem about your grandson!!
Thanks for the good words.

ed

[judih]

what a delightful ode to Rowan
how i wish i could walk alongside my grandkids
and clasp my hands with theirs
- you've helped me see their sunbeams

[sasha]

Grandchildren don't seem to be in the mix for me, but such strong, dear memories of my daughter when she was little, mental snapshots of precious moments - following your lead, Steve, Ed's piece has stirred up silt that's lain quiet for so many years - little moments that have resisted time's erosion - I'll be back.....