31. Memory Man

At a time of desperate need
I reached out to the memory of a man
Who made me feel special
Not because of what I knew or could do
But because of who I was
His grandson
Who could be anybody and do anything
I believed him too
Until the day of losses when life said otherwise
For weeks and months the losses mounted
Then one day I found his ring
Resting on a shelf in a family memory cabinet
Waiting to remind me
I was still special
Not for what I knew or could do
But for who I was
His grandson
Now a grandfather
But not one like him
I was too busy doing
To play with my grandchildren
A grandfather who joked he was a human doing
Not a human being
It was no joke
I heeded his call from the grave
And started wearing his ring
A constant reminder
That his gift to me
Was also a gift for my grandchildren
It's been six years since the day of losses
When I started wearing his ring
I believe again I can be anybody and do anything
Most of all a loving grandfather
To each of my many grandchildren
The ring I no longer wear
I lost it the other day in a large green field
Playing and laughing with two of my youngest grandchildren
I searched to find it
But it had been reclaimed by my grandfather
His memory had finished the work he had begun
Now it was my turn
To be a grandfather to my grandchildren
Like the grandfather he was to me