Do you know why I love the holiday season? It's the time of year when people become more appreciative of their loved ones and all the little things that they do. I was feeling especially grateful and wrote this poem thinking of my Grandma Dolly, the cutest woman you will ever meet. I hope reading this serves as a reminder to give the gift of presence this year and to celebrate every moment shared with your family.

Dolly

A brittle spirit

with fragile movements,

goes about her day

trying not to break even more.

Her back has felt

an unbearably heavy burden.

The ache of a lifetime

has leaked into her soul.

Her daughter wets a brush

and calms her white hair down.

Swapping the roles

well known and rehearsed.

Each movement is a struggle,

a dual effort.

Wishing for time to be reversed

and arguments to be undone.

While I kneel by her side,

she grasps my hand

and holds it tight.

Shaking it.

out of love and gratitude

for pushing her and

visiting her in that

cold asylum.

"I want to go home."

She says to me.

And it hurts me

to know she never will.

And I wonder

if she knows it too.

Whether she knows the

piano we sat behind is gone.

Whether she knows how much

weight she has lost.

Whether she knows how immensely

i love her.

When I say goodbye,

she holds me close like

all she has is me.

Not wanting a second to be wasted

And it makes me wonder.

If this, one day,

will be my destiny.