My Grandfather's Hands Poem by Colin Coplin

My grandfather's hands tell a story
That few today could understand
Each knot a memory, each cut a step forward
That made me what I am

My grandfather's hands worked the fields
That grew the food, that fed the common man
Each day beneath the sun a lash, eighty drops of sweat a dollar
That made me what I am

"Don't meet your troubles half way", he'd say
"The future always comes
It belongs to those who build it", he'd say
"Make sure you build it strong"

My grandfather's hands, my grandfather's hands,
They turned the wheels, that made me what I am

My grandfather's hands tell a story
That few today could understand
They were strong, yet they were gentle
They left his finger prints all over me

My grandfather's hands, taught me to fly
And catch me when I flew to close to the sun
When he sat me on his shoulders, I could see a bigger world,
That made me what I am

"All promises are either broken or kept", he'd say
"To everything there is a season"
"Procrastination is the thief of time", he'd say
"Doubt is the beginning, not the end of wisdom"

My grandfather's hands, my grandfather's hands
Instilled the values, that made me what I am

And the times I struggled
they new how to wrap around and comfort.
I miss my grandfather's hands
‘
My grandfather's hands tell a story
That few today could understand
From his shoulders I could see the world
And made me what I am

Copyright Colin Coplin 2010 (updated 2023)