Poems from Interviews

Here are some poems I made from lines/information in my interviews with my Grandpa. I just thought maybe they'd be interesting to look at for you guys.

Watch Hill

We would play

In front of the castle

On the sand

Where the nuns went

For holiday

When my mother cut their hair

And sent us with a cake

The nuns would let us play

Away from them,

Of course –

With the beach all to ourselves

My mother’s daughter

My mother

Pregnant by her husband

Who pushed her down the stairs

Pregnant with my mother’s daughter

My sister

The spelling word in fourth grade

“adoption”

“Like Bob’s sister”

And that’s how I found out

“I don’t want to change her name for her”

Half-sister

or step-sister

None of that foolishness

She just was

my sister

And that’s the way it was

That House

Well I’ll tell you how big a deal it was

My father’s family did not accept my mother

Going up to see my grandparents

While my mother cooked

My mother was not allowed

In that house

The only time my mother

Was allowed in that house

Was on Christmas Eve

So yes.

It was very much a big thing

Touristy Things

Bitsy would say

“Now

you can’t

do any of the touristy things”

I remember

One time

I was in France

I called her

And we were talking

“Bitsy I’ve got a confession”

“You went to see the sights”

“No, but

I’m looking out my window

and I can see the Eiffel Tower”

“Well

as long as you don’t go there

it’s okay”

Albums

She’d take a ton of pictures

And then she’d put them into albums

And write about every picture

What it was

Why

The background

“Bitsy what are you doing this for?

Do you think

for one minute

anyone’s ever gonna care

about these books?”

“They may or may not.

I do it because I relive it.”

Bitsy

She was an incredible reader

She just loved adventure

And new things

And learning

Yeah,

So,

That was her.