Grandpa
by Ashley Chen
Define grandpa.This poem needs little explanation. This commemoration of the life of a wonderful man speaks for itself, framed in the context of a dictionary's inability to convey the personal and human aspects of a grandfather.
Go ahead, look it up in the dictionary.
The entry you see, won't be what my grandpa meant to me.
It won't list the cuddles on the comfy chair,
Warm woolen sweater, and 公公's cheek against my hair.
It won't number the cookies we munched,
(We sure ate a whole bunch)
One careful, once-a-day selection from the cookie tin collection,
Nope, that won't be there.
It won't have the trail maps of all the places we went skiing,
Chilly chuckles on lifts up, silly smiles on runs down, hot chocolate in between.
It won't have pictures of the museums we explored,
Checking out exhibits, science experiments, we were never bored.
It won't have copies of the Mr. Clark stories,
The duck, the field trip, his hardships, and his glories.
It won't be as long as the shortest day we spent together,
It won't record the food, the mood, or the type of weather.
The list could go on, the dictionary is not comprehensive,
(That could make Mr. Webster a bit apprehensive)
But in the end the only definition we need,
Is the one in our hearts, of who John C. Chen was to you and to me.
Ashley's favorite Bible verse is from John:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.Ashley says that this verse reminds her to receive God's peace in the midst of a busy life.
John 14:27
Having just met Ashley for the first time at her grandpa's memorial service in Feb. 2015, and having not known him much except by name (we girls called him "GuFu" in our family) and his broad grin and kind manner in the few days we were ever together (our families saw each other about once every 5-10 years, as I recall as a child, and then I saw him and GuGu at the weddings of my sisters and me), it is precious to me to see what she writes of, remembering him. Her poem reminds me of how I felt at his memorial service, that he had been quite a wonderful man, professor, engineer, administator, husband, father and grandfather, and it's a shame I didn't know him better. And I thank God that Jesus doesn't give to us "as the world gives" because the world's gifts so often seem to have strings attached, pressure, expectations, conditions. Praise be to Jesus for giving us "peace" instead of a "to-do list" or more difficulty and trouble.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet poem that shares the richness of relationship with GuFu! Aunt Karen
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