Grandpa's Wish Poem by valerie bellefleur

Back in 1933 when
I was only ten
Grandpa Leroy came to live
With me and Ma and Ben

Grandpa had a yearning
Since he was a tyke
To fill his boyhood fantasy
And own a shiny bike

But times were tough in Grandpa's time
And life it was no joy
Because his parents told him
They could not afford a toy

So two days after Gramps arrived
When he'd unpacked his trunk
He asked us kids where in this town
He'd find some good used junk

We took him to the junkyard dog
Whose dump was one mile hike
And asked old Earl if he had the parts
To make old Gramps a bike

Within an hour the 'dog' produced
A bent up frame and wheel
Some broken spokes, a twisted chain
And offered the best of deals

The seat was missing, the fender crushed
But Grandpa didn't stammer
He knew that frame wouldn't misbehave
When he hit it with a hammer

'It's taken me these sixty years
To own this bike, he sighed
And now the thing that's left to do
Is finally learn to ride!

Up at dawn and in his shed
A 'pounding on the steel
Trying to turn a broken wreck
To something that looked real

We'd hear him cuss when he smashed his thumb
Or the wheel wasn't right
And his cursing would continue
Til the middle of the night

But at last one morning
Round bout five
As I crawled up out my bed
I heard a shriek of sheer delight coming from the shed

Out the door came a figure clad
In bright red underwear
Riding on a bicycle
Wind blowing through his hair

His eyes were wide
And his mouth agape
As through the dust he rode
Narrowly missing a turkey who was headed for the road

He peddled madly through the dirt
Screamingly as proud and fond
Never looking he was heading
Right for Miller's Pond

With a terrible thump
He hit a rock
And tumbled with a howl
Falling with a mighty thump
And scaring all the fowl

The newly built bike was a twisted mess
And Grandpa was a wreck
Covered in mud and dirty
With a turkey round his neck

We pulled old Grandpa from the muck
And dragged the twisted frame
But the poor old geezer didn't care
And quietly said 'Oh shame'

'I've had my fun - my last hurrah
My birthdays come too fast
Tomorrow I'll be eighty
Much longer I won't last

I got my special wishes
I'm happy just for that
Now, I'm going walking
Please, kids find my hat'