I Remember

the bewilderment,
in the hollows of his eyes
shadows of the man
he used to be

I remember
this man, my uncle,
who took my family
on cross country trips
so we could meet
other relatives

I remember
how he hated
babushkas, pin curls,
labelled them artillery,
hated his nieces not
looking their best

I remember
how he ran up the hill
to stop the car
when it rolled backwards

I remember
the uncle
who always had time
to help a child,
to teach a lesson

now
he forgets the date,
tells us he wants
his mother to visit,
forgets she died
forty years ago

he talks of his teaching days
when telling a child
smoking was bad,
stopped it

he wages war
against dandelions
with his jackknife,
loves to be useful
fix this or that

he knows
somehow, I am his family
but is not sure how,
he always has time
to make a cuppa,
offer cookies

now his age,
disease,
imprison him

I see
the hollows in his eyes,
remember the uncle
he used to be

Inserted photograph is of Uncle Neil. He came to Flin Flon, Canada in 1933. The photo is owned by the author.

Bio: Glenda (Glennis) Walker-Hobbs is Canadian and a long-time member of WVU. She belongs to Word Weavers and Julia Cameron groups. Glenda is secretary of her local writer's group. She has published seven books of poetry and had her poetry and prose published in various anthologies. She is working on her poetry MFA.  Glennis’s Poetry page can be found at gwalkerhobbs.angelfire.com