JULIE SAYLOR
Poetry
My Big Grampa
He lifts me in the air.
His big arms bring me to a bear hug.
Then places me down from where I was standing.
He takes out a frosty box that reads,
‘Klondike Sandwiches.’
A toothy smile forms on my face.
He lets out a laugh.
Then he calls me
the apple of his eye.
.
White flakes of snow fall from the sky.
The delicious aromas of ham and spice fill the room.
Is he coming to dinner?
What’s taking him so long?
We called, until we heard buzzing
at the end of the line a million times.
We’re done waiting.
I overhear weeping downstairs,
soon to find out that his chair will empty.
.
I am alone and feeble without his presence.
The emptiness has consumed me in his old home.
Boxes of mugs sit at the table
where we used to eat his peach pies.
The house was still and smelled of a wet cellar.
It’s cool and sunny.
We’re having a garage sale of all his antiques.
I hope nobody buys them,
so I keep them as a memory for myself.
Seasonal Dreams
Though we were intertwined like two maple trees.
And joined by the hip.
I still remember till this day,
when we first kissed.
Our skin ablazed by the touch of each other's lips.
Like our leaves brushing against one another in the wind.
This love was hot.
I could not stand this heat,
and how it hurt my branches.
I was burning,
from my trunk to my crown.
The wind quickly came,
to save my burning soul.
To put the fires she created out.
Though I’m all ash,
and my branches are all dead.
I wonder if I'll be able to love again.
Lemonade and Papercuts
As two girls hold on tight to the handles of the inflatable tube,
Their grandfather asks them,
“Are you girls ready?”
They hold up their tiny thumbs, signaling go.
Their grandfather speeds up the boat.
The rope lifts out of the water
And sprays the girls’ faces.
The thrill makes them scream.
Their grandfather maneuvers the boat to the left.
The girls both yell out,
“Goose!”
As they lean against the turn.
Their grandfather parks the boat by the dock.
Both little girls hop onto the wood
And jump off into the cool lake water.
They knew not to jump beforehand.
Their life jackets keep them afloat.
They bob in the water like fishing lures.
The sun shines onto the glittering navy.
They squint to see each other through the sunlight.
They smile at one another.
Their grandfather calls them into the boat house for lunch.
Hand in hand, they skip over with toothy smiles.
Thinking about those precious memories,
Makes her miss the other girl.
She was happy when they were together.
She had no worries in the world.
Her childhood was rough.
Her dad was never around,
And her mom did drugs and was neglectful.
Although their grandparents were her crutches.
They invited her to their home.
She lived there for a couple of years
And joined sports and other activities.
She went to school and studied hard to get straight A’s.
She had structure
Until she decided to go live with her mom.
Everyone tried to convince her
That where she was now was the best place for her.
She chose to go with her mom.
After a while, she stopped doing her hobbies.
She stopped going to karate.
She stopped going horseback riding.
She stopped playing the violin.
She hung out with the kids that were troubled in school,
Ones that got detention,
Smoked in the bathrooms,
Skipped classes.
She built a wall between her and everyone who cared about her.
She watched the sun move against the wall.
She regularly spoke about how sad she was.
Her grades were dropping.
She started to lose her friends.
She was in a dark pit that she couldn’t escape out of.
She never ate when she had the chance to,
Started to get much skinnier,
Never had dinner and skipped lunches at school.
She wasn’t the same person she used to be.
Looking at her now,
The other wonders if she will continue to fall down this dark pit.
She hopes she realizes there’s a way out
And she doesn’t need to continue like this.
Maybe she’ll see two hands reaching down to pull her back up
From the darkness she’s in.
