Dear Grandpa

 

Dear Grandpa Burton

 

I don’t know where to start

Or even what to say

For as it is

Just yesterday

You’ve gone and passed away

I came into your life in 1992

The step-daughter of your grandson

Kenneth Robert Lier

Who happened to be the eldest child

Of your daughter Betty Anne

As I look back on my life

A short 21 years

I realize that while I’ve had many grandparents

You’re the only grandfather I’ve ever known

My Grandpa Bryant passed just weeks before I turned 16

The last time I saw him I was 5

The memories are severely lacking

My Grandpa Holmes I never had a chance to know

For he passed on

When my mom was only 17

When I first came into this world

Of the Burton and Lier’s

I had no idea what to expect

And yes I was a little scared

But you opened your home

Your arms

And your heart to me

And treated me as if I were your own

If you ever thought of me any differently

Because we’re not related genetically

You never let it show

And that I will never forget

So now I sit here

In the floor of your living room

Looking around your house

Memories flood my mind

I look at your chair

And remember the time

I danced for you

On the patterned rug you used to have near it

My eyes drift

They land on an enormous magnifying glass

And I can see you

Sitting there

In your chair

Using it to read the paper

I close my eyes and breathe deep

There are a few things that remind me of you

A few things that come to mind when I think of you

Checkers,

 For as long as I can remember you’ve played them with my dad

Horseradish,

That you and dad used to eat

Cards,

You used to try and teach me a few games

Sitting outside when the weathers right

Your tractor

Your garden

Oh yes and how could I forget

The dinner you’ve eaten every night since we’ve met

So as you can see grandpa

You will not be forgotten

I love you dearly

And will do everything to make sure my kind know

Exactly who you are

I know you live on

In my heart and memories

But you’re not here physically

And this is what saddens me

I love you and miss you

More than you’ll know

Thank you for being a very special grandpa to me

-25 Jan. 2005

DEDICATED TO: HARRY L. BURTON

 17 MAY 1912- 24 JANRUARY 2005

Reviews

[Nick Erickson]

This is an excellent memoir for your grandfather, giving everyone a little information to know who he was. I understand that loss, as I still miss my grandfather who passed away two years ago. He and I were very close, paralleling careers in a sense.

Very well done!!!