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Ernie Adams: A Retrospective

by Julie Adams

I loved him dearly, always
more like a granddad (I never knew mine)
or like I never even left (though I did
years ago). This is memory—

images—flicker—break—recycle.
His big smile flashes in the sun, head turned,
hair parted to one side, the image is silent,
still I hear his voice, somewhere in the background—

Red, jolly, contagious, drifting into the garden
from the house, his laugh tumbled like a runaway hubcap
into a tinny cycle of laughing breaths…’e’s an Adams’ alright,
patriarch in fact, eldest of eight, red nose ’n all

He was dad, granddad, even great-granddad,
and of course an uncle to many—“the shorter one”
“the Queens Park Rangers player,” “the military man”
the beloved man of a thousand stories. This is memory.

My favorite, I see him running in our garden
with little Clare and Denise, Linda is laughing from the patio,
the girls are squealing as he tickles them,
red-faced all the while, Doreen offers fresh lemonade
and cake from the kitchen door. This is memory.

This is where he will ever be for me, out in the garden,
family around, perhaps a football resting underfoot, laughing,
recalling his days as a dad, as a young man, as a child
during the war, images flashing before him, as mine do now.

This is memory. Beloved!

09/29/2009

Author's Note: Sept 27th, 2009

Posted on 09/30/2009
Copyright © 2024 Julie Adams

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Shossana Dreyfus on 09/30/09 at 02:37 PM

And I like this one even more. It reminds me of how I need to get over my selfish sorrow and give the departed what we all probably wish for - happy, loving, meaningful memories. This really touched me. I love the simple yet effective language, which refects the honesty of this sentiment.

Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 10/01/09 at 08:30 PM

Lots of great images in this tribute Julie. Kudos back at ya.

Posted by Charlie Morgan on 10/05/09 at 02:00 PM

...julie, if MY grandson Kai remembers me like you do your uncle/granddad/dad/greatgranddad...well i will have lived in NO vain as emily says...i love your bountiful treatment of a memory, which we all are anyway

Posted by Ava Blu on 10/06/09 at 07:40 PM

My dear, I scan the top ten so rarely these days, ending with disappointment. Here, this, is nowhere near a disappointment. More work of yours should be featured in the top ten, so that others may learn what it is to have a voice that sings through words.

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