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All copy on this page is the property of Kayla McPheeters and may not be reprinted without express permission from the author. All rights reserved. 1999.
Poetry & Prose (below) Watercolor Art
Poems & Prose by |
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by Kayla McPheeters, 6th grade
My grandpa, Steve O'Rourke, was 83
and had stayed at our house for three months to see his grandchildren before returning
home for good but I hope to remember him forever.
About two weeks after his presence my dad got a phone call from my grandpa in the Arizona hospital. His heart was failing and he was ready to go but my dad wasn't ready to let go. That phone call made my dad's heart sink and he said, "Hold on dad I'll be right there." So my dad packed up and headed down there.
When he got there, he asked for Steve O'rourke and the nurse said, "Intensive Care Unit." Without delay, my dad stumbled himself to the room. My dad saw him laying there. He looked pale and without logic. My dad said, "Hello," with a shaky voice and Steve returned the message with a nod and then said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not". Those words seemed almost meaningless at the moment. How could he not be scared? Here was the man who brought him up so lovingly and made my dad the genuine person he is today laying in his deathbed. Buy my dad knew deep down that he had lived a wonderful life and had to let go sometime. But he also knew not right away so he said, "Ill be back at eight", and left.
That night, right at eight o'clock when he walked in the door he knew this was it and ran down the hall and yelled, "Dad, I'm here!" When he got to the room, he reached for my grandpa's hand. It was cold but it warmed my dad. He made a couple jokes but did not laugh. That didn't mean there were not funny. My dad saw my grandpa struggling to keep his eyes open and so he said, "Go ahead, dad. I'll be fine so go ahead. Return home and someday I'll come home to see you again when it's my turn."
My grandpa accepted the offering and went home. My dad felt the grip in his fingers go away but he kept holding. He watched the color in his flesh flow out making his skin look like clay but kept watching. Then he felt a certain comfort come over him knowing that now my grandpa was home and living forever watching over him and it made my dad go from a sudden sadness to a sudden solemness.
I'll never forget this story of my grandpa's journey home because I want to keep that memory forever. Because even when his soul is gone, the love and memory of him will burn and live inside me 'till my time comes to visit him.
To lose a companion will never be understood by man.
When time calls to go ahead,
All we do is think their dead.
And I know it's hard, the strings pulled tight,
You feel you can't do anything right.
Hear we're left to ponder and pend
Over a very close lost friend.
This hole in your heart will someday mend
If only you will comprehend.
To go further we must forget the past
'cause someday you will be with them ... home at last.
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From the moment we were born, And as we grow old together They'll correct us when we're wrong. With them we will laugh and cry, We'll hold their hands down long, long paths So as they comfort us on the ground, |
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