Saturday, April 30, 2016

Jackie




Jackie

Mommy? Grandma?
Why are you crying?
Did I do something wrong?

No, Jackie. No, Punkin'.
It's not you.
We're crying for the bygones.

We're remembering Uncle Jack.
Grandpa's trumpet 
was one of the things from home that he took along

with him into the war.
The trumpet didn't come back, and neither did he.
But you're here, so Uncle Jack will live on.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2016



4 comments:

  1. Mary Lee! I've totally lost track of time, completely drawn into your story in verse. Wow, my friend....just wow!

    Let's sit down with cups of tea and you can tell me all the little bits of truth woven in and you can tell me the way the characters started talking and the way you kept following them.

    I'll bring the scones,
    Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that this one seems to harken back to earlier times in earlier images and poems. It can be confusing to kids when they see us cry and can't quite understand why. What an incredible project!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crying for the Bygones might well be the title of the collection, Mary Lee....

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.