Grandpa

 

He had fought in the Boer War

and later in the Great War

When I came to know him after

the Second World War

he was a man I sat with and

held in awe

 

He lived alone in an isolated hamlet

not many miles from where Shakespeare

wrote Hamlet

Advanced in years with wrinkles which

betrayed his age

he smoked black twist in his pipe 

like an old sage

 

He refused gas, electric and 

running water

and for this he earned a great deal

of laughter

Those who lived near by called

him Grandpa

as his eyes were those 

of a large old panda

 

I spent hours, days and weeks listening

to his tales

as he sat by the old blackened range

with a glass of ale

His stories were rich and true of a 

past which he verily knew

I listened silently and intently and

never uttered a boo

 

We formed a special and lasting 

friendship

no longer did I spend my time with others

to play and skip

I became his devoted and loyal

understudy

my dear old Grandpa and buddy

 

Some said he was ninety five

which to me said he was very much alive

He taught me history from his reality

and from this knowledge I developed

a speciality

 

Years after Grandpa had passed away

as old soldiers never die but fade away

I sat my final school exams and from his

personal story

I became a teacher of modern British

history