Grandad

Looking over at the wheels of my stroller
I fell hard on the street
screaming bloody murder is my first memory
I was scooped up in the arms of an old man
who was terrified for me
he was my mothers step father and I was his buddy
I had a rollercoaster in my grandad’s backyard
it might not have been much but it meant the world to me
hooked my wagon to the back of his tractor and we went round and round and round
looking kind of crazy but he did it just for me
I was the first born when he joined the union and the first child of three
eighteen year old mother in a Christian family
my mama really tried to be happy, but my father couldn’t stop the drink
one morning in the front seat moving to another street
I had a rollercoaster in my grandad’s backyard
it might not have been much but it meant the world to me
hooked my wagon to the back of his tractor and we went round and round and round
looking kind of crazy but he did it just for me