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Loss Lessons -- Sporadic Voids

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I grew up in a house simple yards away from my grandparents' house. Sometimes my grandpa would come up to the screen in our windows. I would run to the window and talk to him In his baseball hat and sunglasses. I have pictures of him greeting me as I ran off the school bus In early elementary. He was so tall and sturdy and healthy then. He helped me carry school projects  Asked me "Where's your jacket?" "Did you wash your hands when you got home from school?" Sometimes my parents would call my grandparents' number To make sure I was over there And I was. Sometimes my grandma would be at the store When I got home from school And my grandpa and I would talk freely. What's going on at school? -- Are your classmates treating you well? How are your grades? What have you been playing at piano lessons -- Anything more upbeat? (The wind carried slow, minor chords to their house.) Then we'd see my grandma's car and he told me  "Let's help you...
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Loss Lessons -- Worry as Love

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My grandpa's eyebrows furrowed when he worried about me. Long white hairs lowered down to intense eyes -- Bright, light green eyes -- And his voice was higher and pained. Emotions poured through lips that alternated From smile to frown to smile to frown. Most of the time he was worried about small things -- How I was doing in Math, Why I hadn't visited him in a few days, Or why I didn't have a heavier coat on. But as I got older, my issues got more intense -- And so did his worry. Why was someone bullying me? What was I going to do with my life? How would I heal from that breakup? I think my grandpa worried about me the most during that time of his life. I think he worried about me more than he worried about himself. He told me "The only person you can trust is yourself," And encouraged me to rid my life of anyone that treated me badly. He himself spent most of his time at home. My grandma brought him his dinner. They each had their own T...
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