Grey Haired Advice

By Richard LeDue

Some of my grandparents were alcoholics,
and some died when I was young
or before I was born,
except for one grandmother
who used to push the foam from her beer
with her index finger,
so there was barely anyone telling my parents
to let me open my Christmas gifts
early, fewer candy bars
eaten in shopping carts, no
grey haired advice about first love,
nor laughter
as I daydreamed about drinking my first beer
at a Sunday barbeque,
but there were plenty of quiet Saturday nights,
home alone,
finding memories through rabbit ear static
on a thirteen inch black and white TV
given to my sister and me
for Christmas from our last surviving grandmother
(her liver gave out when I was in junior high
and the fiddle music at her funeral
so sad that I still can't find the right words
to describe it).

Richard LeDue (he/him) was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, but currently lives in Norway House, Manitoba with his wife and son. His poems have appeared in various publications throughout 2020, and more is forthcoming throughout 2021. His first chapbook, “The Loneliest Age,” was released by Kelsay Books in autumn 2020, and a second chapbook, “The Kind of Noise Worth Writing Down,” is forthcoming in early 2022 from Kelsay Books.