Tag: grandma nan

When Life is Precious/Delicate

It is hard to believe that this year is coming to an end already. I know that I have not posted anything here in a while. Lots of transitions, as well as many ups and downs. New jobs. Family things. You know how life goes. I really thought long and hard about this topic to end the year with. Life is a precious and delicate thing. Sometimes we take it for granted. I am blessed to have parents I am close with and friends who I am very lucky to have. But that could change in a moment. I was just thinking about it recently especially with the timely death of my grandma Nan who passed away at the age of 98 at the end of September. I have been thinking about it as my parents are getting older too and my dad just turning 85 earlier this month (happy birthday month to my lovely dad).

We need to enjoy and remember every moment with those we care about while they are still here. My grandma was a complicated person, but I never doubted her love for me and people who knew her and know me remind of that every singe day. I choose to remember the good memories instead of the bad or tragic ones. She also very much supported my poetry writing and encouraged me on daily basis. A lot of my earlier work was inspired by her. I get my love of poetry from that side of the family. That brings me into my first and my only quote for this post. I am keeping this a short one. This quote is by Jim Valvano who says “Enjoy your life, the precious moments you have.” That quote sums it all up. We need to enjoy life and remember those precious moments. I once again apologize for not posting as much as I usually do, but maybe my new year’s resolution is to write more on this blog and to still get my poetry collection published. I just want to wish you all a happy new year! May this next year bring you everything you are looking for. Here are two poems to end 2025.

Life Hanging By a Thread

Life is precious and delicate

Like an intricately woven web.

Sometimes you need to know

When to hold on and when it is

Time to let go. Life is about loss

And coping. We are all dealing

With heartbreak or with losing

A family member. We all deal with

Grief and love. Sometimes it is

Better to remember the good times

Rather than the memories that have

Us shed a tear or two. We would

Rather remember who we love in

The present moment rather than

The love we lost months or years

Ago. Maybe none of it matters –

The pain, the hurt, the longing,

The anger or anything in between.

Maybe that is why I protect my

Heart more than anything else

Because it is precious and closest

Thing I have to the honest truth.

Love is not meant for the ones

Barely hanging on. It is meant for

The ones who are strong and capable.

To Grandma Nan

I love you 

The words that 

Rattle around in my head.

How I wish I could have been

There for you in your final moments,

But the guilt I used to carry around

Like a suitcase melts away. Maybe

It is better to remember your last

Words spoken to me rather than 

Seeing you in the flesh because 

I would rather remember you as

You were, loving and supportive

And not hanging on for dear life.

I loved you grandma even when you

Were rough around the edges. 

I loved you when you hugged me

Tightly. I loved you even when 

Your memories have faded,

But your love stayed intact.

My Start In Poetry

As we kick off the new year (happy 2021 everyone), I want to take this time and look back on when I first started writing poetry. I first started writing poetry in middle school and I believe it was 6th grade, but by the time I was in 8th grade I really got into it. I always credit Mr. Rose, my 8th grade English teacher for my start in poetry. I began connecting to it a lot more and I have carried it with me since then. It has become my whole world. Poetry is all about perspective and experience. That brings me to my first and only quote in this post. Muriel Rukeyser says, “Breathe in experience, breathe out poetry.” I really do breathe poetry. I do not want to make this post too long, but I would love to share some of my earliest works with you and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do! FYI, I wrote this poem from my grandma’s perspective who at a young age moved from Arkansas to California. I thank her for being one of my earliest inspirations and for continuing to cheer me on. I love you grandma Nan!!!!

Grandma Nan Moves From Arkansas

When I was ‘bout 13 years old
Younger than you are now
I was leaving our only family home.

I said goodbye to our ratty,
Yet warm and welcoming house.
I also said goodbye to
The faded and chipped red painted barn,
Occupied with the clucking of the rooster
And the loud noises of the other animals.
I was longing and aching to touch them
One last time,
Before I said goodbye
To them for the very last time
I grew up with them
I have loved and cherished them
As if they were a part of my family.

I am leaving the old country side
And all of the roads that
Isolated us from our neighbors
Down the long bend
And those kicking up dirt
As we drive on by in our car.

I was going to miss my Arkansas
But we were leaving
For something better,
A life in the city,
In San Francisco, California
A place known as
“The land of sunshine and opportunity.”

It’s a place where my poppa could get a real job
Making enough money to support us.
He doesn’t have to live on the minimum wage,
Barely making a dollar an hour.

The Great Depression
Swept through the country
And took everything that was in it’s path.

I wonder what ever happened to that house
For I have never gone back to Arkansas
And I still haven’t to this very day.