Places I Have Been Poem by Juan Olivarez

he sat outside the grocery store,
Watching the world go by.
If he was eighty, he was ninety four,
With a big ole smile toothless and sly.

Grandpa we called him, out of respect,
just one more of the guys.
Energy and laughter he did not lack,
But he told some awful lies.

he smelled like cumin, the old man spice,
But he was always clean and neat.
When girls walked by he was all sighs,
Sweating in the Texas heat.

I saw her coming four blocks away,
In her red mini-skirt.
The first eye candy of the early day,
Sashaying like a big ole flirt.

And grandpa's eyes started to shine,
his toothless smile just grew.
I couldn't blame him she was so fine,
She was some kind of view.

As she walked past, the wind picked up,
And gave us all a thrill.
Blowing her skirt from bottom to top,
We caught a glimpse of lace and frills.

Grandpa just smiled, and I asked him why,
his face was one big grin.
my twelve year old eyes, just saw him sigh,
he said, 'thinking of places I have been.'

7/18/12 Alton Texas