#Throwdown Thursday (4/5/18): Losing Grandma…my latest #haibun on .@ImageCurve

Losing Grandma

 

 

I donโ€™t remember Grandmaโ€™s death. The only flash of memory is a snippet of conversation, and a flash of grief and concern on Momโ€™s face.

My most clear memory of Grandma: she would squeeze my cheeks between her index and middle fingers and then twist. Simultaneously, her Calabrais face in mine, sheโ€™s say, โ€La Bella!โ€

I still feel my cheeks ache!

Evidently, I didnโ€™t take her death well. I didnโ€™t understand that she was gone, or so Mom would tell me. She became so concerned that she bought the book โ€œWhen People Die.โ€ I sat on her lap as she read me the picture book cover to cover that night.

โ€œI should have let you attend the funeral,โ€ Mom often said afterward.

It would have made no difference. But how could I tell her, then, what took me so long to understand?

fallen leaves
her faded photograph
her sole remains

 

photo byย Samuel Zeller

 

first published in Image Curve, April 5, 2018

 

UPDATE: for dVerse Poets OLN#217, Grace Pubtending

 

#GloPoWriMo2018 #NaPoWriMo2018 5/30

 

NaPoWriMo 2018

 

 

 

 

Advertisements

Posted

in

by

Comments

11 responses to “#Throwdown Thursday (4/5/18): Losing Grandma…my latest #haibun on .@ImageCurve”

  1. Charley Avatar

    Mm mmm, you do so much with so few words. That one is close to the bone, Frank.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Grace Avatar

    It is hard to lose a beloved member of the family ~ Thanks for joining in Frank ~

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Grace! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Like

  3. Sarah Russell Avatar

    Tender, beautiful memory. A lovely tribute, Frank.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. lynn__ Avatar

    Grief seen through the eyes of a child…thanks for the precious (if painful!) details, Frank.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. peterfrankiswrites Avatar

    Like others, a lovely acute piece on the persistence of grief. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. kim881 Avatar

    Your words have brought a tear to my eye on this sunny April morning, Frank. I love the ‘clear memory of Grandma: she would squeeze my cheeks between her index and middle fingers and then twist. Simultaneously, her Calabrais face in mine, sheโ€™s say, โ€La Bella!โ€’ I bet you still feel my cheeks ache, mine were as I read it! Your mother did the right thing with the book – have you ever read Michael Rosen’s Sad Book? The haiku is like a tear.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Sabio Lantz Avatar

    Cool story and fine, honest insights.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. memadtwo Avatar

    The understanding of death is slow to arrive (if indeed it ever does). Absence, a hole in the fabric of life–we all feel that. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Mary (tqhousecat) Avatar

    The mind of a child is so fragile and loss of someone close can be so confusing. It is hard enough as an adult.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. lillian Avatar

    This is so wonderful….beyond words wonderful. The innocence of the child who understands death better than adults. This is a wonderful post.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Frank J. Tassone Cancel reply

Blogroll


The Wombwell Rainbow
The Wombwell Rainbow
Inspiration, History, Imagination

The Elephant's Trunk
The Elephant's Trunk
๐Ÿ˜ Nancy is a storyteller, music blogger, humorist, quasi poet, curveballer, dreamer ๐Ÿ˜

Gulf Coast Poet
Gulf Coast Poet
gulfcoastpoet.com

A Unique Title For Me
A Unique Title For Me
Hoping to make the world more beautiful

joyful2beeblogs
joyful2beeblogs
Stories about life; past, and present

Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet
Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet
Crafting Magic through Prose & Poetry

Mom With a Blog
Mom With a Blog
โœ๏ธ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผโœจ๐ŸŒธ

Annette Rochelle Aben
~ Communicator, WordSmith, Artist, Guide, Mentor, Muse ~

Tanka Tuesday
Tanka Tuesday
Join Us: #TankaTuesday ็ŸญๆญŒ ็ซๆ›œๆ—ฅ

The Bag Lady
The Secret of Change Is to Focus All of Your Energy, Not on Fighting the Old, But on Building the New – Socrates

Frank J. Tassone-American Haijin by Frank J. Tassone is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0