How I wish I could hear again
Grandpa play his violin
And dance a lively jig
Making steps wide and big
As I listen to Grandpa play
In his own special way.
Family gatherings were always lots of fun
Expecially when the band began to play
As Grandpa stepped up to the mike
So humble and dignified like
Placing the violin under his chin
And the playing would begin.
Folks would step out and form a circle
Men moving one direction
And women another
Men offered their arm
And she curtsied nice and prim
As she began to dance with him
While Grandpa played his violin.
Mama told me this story one day
While visiting the cemetery looking for kin
And saw where Grandpa lay underneath a stone of gray.
Mama said he had hair of red
But Oh how he could play
The violin in his day.
She sighed with a gentle smile and said
I wish I could once again
See Grandpa put the violin under his chin
To play those happy songs once again
And we could dance the night away
In the old fashion way.
'Tis fun to go back again
To days of yore
And remember how it was back then.
Alas! I must not go back
But live in the here and now
With family precious and dear
Making memories while here
To store away and bring out some future day
And listen to Grandpa play
His violin as he did back then.
ŠJane Ward Smith
July 1, 2010 E-mail
