Dear Sara, my sweet dead Sister,
Gosh, another poem for you this month. It’s about a Father’s Day lunch with Chad, Claudine and her children, Katie and Brooke — the daughters of my daughter. Their father, Peter, died the year following yours from a horrible cancer, so you missed the sadness but also a wonderful party of stories about Pete, just as the stories about Sara happened at your party.
Bringing you up to-date on the granddaughters, Katie graduated from college and has some sort of job she works from her new apartment on Capital Hill. Brooke will be a junior at Pitzer College in California where she is interested in Social Justice. Fantastic, eh?
You should know that the vegan appetiser you created of mushrooms in a sauce for spreading on bread is still a popular contribution to family parties, for all of us, just not the vegans.
So, on with the poem, Sis, it’s titled “Grand Kids.”
1. “What’s the best part of being a father,” Granddaughter Katie asked me at lunch with her sister Brooke on her left; then my son Chad, who was next to me; on my other side was daughter Claudine; and next to her was Karen, my wife, number two. As I remember, I had no answer to Katie’s question by the time our drinks arrived. 2. I ordered beer to go with my selection of Blackened Rockfish Tacos. And now, a surprisingly stunning pint glass of a dark porter, filled to the brim, was facing me. This is a good part of being a father … but what is the Best Part? I was stuck, as I sipped the rich, robust dark beer. 3. Then it came to me, and I announced: “I got it!. The best part of being a father is, Grand Kids,” I said! So happy my brain was still working. 4. Katie and Brooke pumped their fists, silhouetted against high noon light flooding the room from windows overlooking the Fishermans Terminal. What a view! This has got to be the Best Father’s Day ever.
I can still see your megawatt smile, dear Sara; we think of you every day.
If you are new to this letter, follow this link for background on our monthly Letters to Sara; and, if you enjoyed reading this letter, please share it with a friend. Thanks ~w.
Warner, this is (as always, I have to say) wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing these, and for your skills in articulating the feelings. <3