Metronome

The inspiration for this poem…

My two grandmas were left behind when we moved to California, and yet, my Grandma Claytie played an important role in my life. She was always with us in spite of the fact that we couldn’t see her on FaceTime or social media. Her presence must have come through the vibes it seemed she was always sending because when the occasional phone call or card came it was the continuation of one long conversation. Of course we looked forward to a paperclip in a birthday card which meant money was attached, but even if a long rectangular envelope arrived it meant there was the continuation of her explaining the daily exploits from her colorful life. Although she was far, she was the one who knew our story. She was there to catch my brother when he was thrown out at 16 pulling him to a life in Kansas where he could eventually graduate. She’s the one I went to when I got mono and needed a hideaway to heal. But when I was with her I did more than heal, I stood with her in the kitchen eating ice cream out of the box for dinner, took long walks through the cemetery together hand in hand until we had to run for cover in an afternoon storm, and I soaked in her stories trying to absorb her infectious snicker. She was a presence, from being the main breadwinner when my grandpa became wheelchair bound to riding her 3 wheeler around town to collect insurance payments. She and my grandpa ran the Burrton Graphic for years before then where she had a regular poetry column entitled “Claytie’s Corner”. Although she regularly ran her bike into ditches and had to be hauled out she was a force to be reckoned with and greatly admired in our town. She knew my father well and was not pleased when he fell in love with her innocent daughter (even threw a glass of ice water in his face on the eve of their wedding), but even so, or maybe because of that, she kept careful tabs on us. The regularity of her in my life was like a faithful timepiece that just kept ticking. Like a metronome.

Writing/Meditation Prompts:

• Sit still and think about who has had a real presence in your life. Thank them. Sit with them. What would you want to say to them now? What might they say to you?

• Make a list of the small things you remember about one of those important people. What were their hands like? What food did you share? Where did you go with them and why? What did you do together? How would you describe them or some part of them?

• Use the list to write a poem. Pick one or two things to focus on. Is there an object like a metronome that reminds you of them?

• Make a timeline of your life together? Hang it on the wall to see its chronology…