Smile as often as the Second Hand Ticks

This is dedicated to my grandmother

be tamed in day

wild at dusk

lust in purple

laugh in yellow

resist mediocrity

ramble until color becomes paint

until paint becomes shape

until shape becomes form

until normal fades behind orange

blink new

inhale light

exhale night

smile as often as second hand ticks

smile as often as the second hand ticks

smile as often as the second hand ticks

smile

second

hand

ticks

we watch my grandmother's grin

slowly deflate 

cancer sucks

it makes reality squeal

hospice beds screech

takes the hour hand 

out of our hands

turns clocks into merry go rounds

cancer makes night come sooner

ties the hands of time

behind her back

No matter the man made

measurement of moments

when I see my grandmother

it's day

She created the manual for my

survival.

1. Always make sure your house in on the bus line.

2. never turn down donations just nod your head

say thank you, then trash it once you get around a corner.

3. Playing duck, duck goose with means you have to touch

every head. Why be loose, baby you can just choose?

She was a sensual woman

quick witted and aware

birth 10 children

through card playing drinking 

good times on friday nights

through two marriages

unexplained separations

through situations only

she could discuss

but family would find it

too harsh to ask.

no, she can't catch a speeding bullet

no, she can't move at the speed 

of a rushing train

no, she can't fly

that is 

not yet.

 

as life begins to fade

her back arcs

soon feathery bright white

wings will burst through her back

her smile will stretch like the strings

of a harp

her voice will soften

as her spirit becomes music

Her memory will be soundtrack

of my horror flick

the underlining drums crashing through

my melodrama

the trumpets of my happiness

Maybe we really become superhero's at death

morphing into surreal beings

leaving life happier than it was

missions undone

battles unwon 

making room for more super people

it's taboo to ask

my grandmother to say hello to God for me.

but she will see him two months sooner than

I will so why not use reality for what it's worth.

Grandma, when you see God

ask him 

if my life will be enough for mine

like yours is enough for me

ask him if tossing caution to the wind

means it travels down an empty road 

breezes through the hair of a child

and fondles the leaves of the old man's tree

because you lived free

and cancer became you

now I don't know what to stop or start

flag on the play

call a time out

this game is a fluke.

Tell him that once you move on

I am not sure if I

am equipped to save the world.

I feel like I need more of your stories

I need more of your rules

to guide me

I don't know what to do

Then God whispered

smile as much as the second hand ticks

smile as much as the second hand ticks

smile as much as the second hand ticks

smile

second

hand

ticks

Copyright 2010 Shelly Bell

Reviews

[ColbyParish]

beautiful.