grandpa

rough, prickly beard,
licorice/wintergreen treats,
numberless hugs and
30 steps away
'til 1995.

then you were gone,
still here, but not.
i missed you,
the you that went
someplace else.

the busy, always
moving, sometimes
gruff man,
who talked to
my brother and me
and my grandma,

and then you
were gone again.

she misses you
and feels bad.
she thinks she
killed you, like
I did my dog;

but you were already gone.