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amuse
01-10-2008, 04:27 PM
The Little Dipper pours its water into the
Big Dipper; folllow the Little Dipper to find the
North Star...

The times I never found Polaris
are too numerous to count,
though he told me time after
time, walk after walk,
campsite after campsite,
state after state.

He's leaving the Big Dipper behind, and
climbing onto the little one's handle.

Closer...he's getting closer.

He taught me to set goals, and
how to tell if a number was divisible by seven.
Math tricks that I don't even
know I know.

Terrified Grandma when he drove
the wee houseboat into a shallow, choppy
lake.

Scrubbed redwood stains off his hands
before he ate dinner, because his
customers preferred fake red to natural wood.
That always made him sad.

Gave me a love of musicals and old movies,
and plate-sized pancakes,
fluffy, drizzled with molasses,
crisp around the edges.

I don't know how many people
used to come up to him and say
I was your student, and
you were great,
and he remembered them, knew
their families, and he loved
every one of them.

When he reaches the
North Star, they'll still be
telling him that.

And he'll be up there,
still trying to point it
out to me.

It won't be so hard to find anymore.

PrinceMyshkin
01-10-2008, 04:40 PM
Glorious! Every concrete vivid detail speaks with authority of the life & blood reality of this man - and your love of him.

amuse
01-10-2008, 04:46 PM
OH thank goodness. :) Thanks for letting me know that, PrinceMyshkin. He's so special.

Sweets America
01-10-2008, 05:21 PM
I love it too, especially the last line! One can feel that you wrote that with your heart.

ampoule
01-10-2008, 07:22 PM
This is heavenly amuse. I love every bit of it.
My grandmother fixed crispy edged pancakes.
You have stirred me.

Pendragon
01-11-2008, 11:41 AM
There are old men, and then there are those wonderful enough to be grandfathers! They always leave a lesson or two that we never forget, a memento we'll never let go of, and the light from their eyes becomes stars...
Wonderful poem

PrinceMyshkin
01-11-2008, 11:42 AM
This is heavenly amuse. I love every bit of it.
My grandmother fixed crispy edged pancakes.
You have stirred me.

Rather that than that he had shaken you.

amuse
01-16-2008, 05:46 PM
lol
.... ....

Thank you, my friends, for your sweet comments. :) I flew out to visit him this weekend in California, and every moment was a treasure.

TheFifthElement
01-18-2008, 09:13 AM
amuse, this is a wonderful poem. It is those little details that make it special, and the tying back to the Pole star, something immutable just like your grandfather is to you. Very touching, and well written.

Granny5
01-18-2008, 09:28 AM
amuse, this is so wonderful. It reminds me of my grandfather, my best friend. Different lessons but the same love. thank you for sharing.

emilylou06
01-18-2008, 08:30 PM
This was beautiful... I loved how you tied in Polaris, and how at the end it is so final and moving. The last line is my favorite, but of course the entire poem is amazing! Great work, and I am sorry for your grandfather. It is good to know he is in a better place.

Pensive
01-19-2008, 05:56 AM
I don't know how many people
used to come up to him and say
I was your student, and
you were great,
and he remembered them, knew
their families, and he loved
every one of them.

That reminds me of my own grandfather very much!


He taught me to set goals, and
how to tell if a number was divisible by seven.
Math tricks that I don't even
know I know.

My favourite part from this poem! 'Math tricks that I don't even know I know.'

Beautiful poem, amuse, I find myself relating to it a lot!