for my grandfather —

For my grandfather --

Stamped in my memory are 
wild summertime strawberries
and the smell of carwax
Marilyn Monroe 
and a mocha on the way to town

Then we are biking around the neighborhood and 
You are spraying me with the hose in the driveway
–– but don't worry, I'll get you back

The ice cream truck has gone by
and the sun is hanging on 
and the puddles have yet to dry up

You smell like you've always smelled
and you smile like you've always smiled

The cadence of your prayers is a beat I will march to

And now it is a Wednesday morning
and here we are again,
at a table of old farmers - guessing my age by my teeth

I am 10 and my teeth don't show my age like a horse's do
But I will play and I will run and I will laugh 
and then it will show

So I think I'll move in,
the garage will be just fine

Now I am 14 and you won't see me play or laugh or run
I am not so sure I am a kid,
I am not so sure of anything

But with you I am still me, of that I am sure

So I will make it through 14 and then 15
and eventually I'll see
that the girl that tried moving into your garage 
is the girl that cried on your couch
is the girl you splashed in the puddles
is the girl that thought childhood was behind her

You will be reminding me always that
between each of those girls
there is no great divide.