|
Ye Gods and Little Fishhooks
by Kristine Briese(With a nod to John Wesley Morgan's
"Loving Grandma")
In Loving Memory:
Julia Evalina Sander Sprague
July 4, 1909 - February 5, 1997
When Dad said, "going to Grandma's"
my heart filled with sweet and warm.
The little green house on the corner
meant being squeezed against her
sweet-smelling softness, meant
kisses and cookies and love.
Hearing of some silly thing I'd done,
her head would rock back and her
laughter, identical to my father's,
would rise up, full-bodied and pure,
always ending on a musical sigh.
Born on Independence Day, she had
the red hair and the flair to prove it.
Catching me at some mischief or other
she would not say "good grief" or "bad girl",
oh no, nothing so colorless for my grandma.
"Ye gods and little fishhooks!" she'd say.
"Ye gods and little fishhooks!"
and then laugh that laugh.
As she grew older her memory began to fail,
but she never lost her beauty or spark.
Say to Grandma, "But you just said..."
and she'd come back with,
"Well, you don't hear good!"
Even as the cancer overtook her,
she didn't slow down, didn't back down.
That last summer, Dad and I went up
to visit her and took her to see
"The 1940s Radio Hour" at the playhouse.
I thank God that Dad asked me to go,
I thank God that I overcame my
self-involvement for once and agreed,
because that was the last time I saw her.
Her eyes twinkled, her
toes tapped to the music,
and she laughed that laugh.
Ye gods and little fishhooks.
Ye gods and little fishhooks.
Yes, indeed.
04/26/2002 Posted on 04/26/2002
Copyright © 2025 Kristine Briese
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 08/03/03 at 06:00 PM 'Ye Gods and little fishooks." What a fine tale...Charlie |
| Posted by Vimal Rony on 08/20/03 at 08:26 PM Am at a loss for words to describe the way u have written this.How well u have captured it all and projected it onto this little white screen.This is just great. |
| Posted by Don Coffman on 08/21/03 at 08:07 AM This one really gets me. *standing ovation* |
| Posted by David R Spellman on 08/21/03 at 01:15 PM Been a while since I last read this and was pleased to do so again. What can be said? It is a beautiful and deeply touching memorial to her, and I can just imagine her using that expression upon reading this. Wonderful. |
| Posted by Amanda J Cobb on 10/17/03 at 05:10 AM Wonderful...makes me think of the people I care about, their personal sayings and characteristic laughs, especially my dad. A very touching tribute, I'm sure she would love it.
On a side-note, what does "ye gods and little fishhooks" mean, exactly? |
| Posted by Jeanne Marie Hoffman on 12/03/03 at 10:17 PM A beautiful tribute, quite poignant |
| Posted by Anne Howe on 03/01/05 at 12:45 PM this chuckles along to its sad end. but what a beautiful memory you share here |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 07/20/06 at 10:30 PM Your grandma comes alive through your descriptions. I'm glad you remember her this way and got that last visit with your dad. |
|
