Memories of Grandpa

 I saw a spider on a flower yesterday and it reminded me of Grandpa and how he found and shared joy in the tiniest details and made the world a happier place.  I wrote some poetry just for him and I hope that it too can help make the world a brighter place.

Flower Spider

I saw a little spider

A pastel green-yellow-white

Sitting on a snapdragon

Of creamy white-yellow bright

And I knew its name was Charlie

Or was it maybe Tim?

Because if Grandpa would have been there

The one naming it would’ve been him.

Like he named the spiders on the roses

With their sunset colors merry

That Grandpa told us to savor

And with spiders and flowers tarry.

Because the world is filled with beauty

The world is filled with wonder

From flower spiders to tree fairies

From rainbows to thunder.

Joy in Little Things

Grandpa saw the world

For the joy in little things

For rhubarb pies

For smiling eyes

For quiet days fishing.

Grandpa told us stories

Of all the woodland folk

Of tree fairies and spiders

Of porcupines and badgers spoke,

He named Timothy the Spider

He named George the Snake

He valued all from large to small

From you to the lilies on the lake.

   

One Smile More

One smile more

Grandpa sought to bring forth

Unto the world

Making it, a brighter place,

One joke more

Grandpa told

Bringing cheer to those around,

One story more

Grandpa shared

For knowledge

For joy,

One smile more

Grandpa gave to the world

And we smiled back.

Grandpa was a storyteller

A cowboy, a firefighter, and more

He chose to bring smiles and laughter to the world

One joke, one story, one contagious smile at a time.

Grandpa was friend and family

He supported us all with love

Raising us up on happiness.

One Day, One Rose

One day, one rose
The month of June is counting by
The fallen petals mark the hours
Of the fading day,
Another dawn, the risen sun
Has woken the leaves from their slumber
Has warmed the petals of the flowers, unfurling
Open to the day ahead,
The heat of the afternoon
Has warmed the roses
In their dense thicket
Until their spicy scent is wafting
On the afternoon breeze,
Evening fell upon the island
Cooling the day
The scent dispersing
The petals of the plucked rose
Are falling,
One day, one rose
The month of June is passing by
The flower clock is ticking to the ground
Scattered petals, fleeting fragrance.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Ninth Day of Yule-Tide 2020

 On the ninth day of Yuletide my true love gave to me, nine hours of footage from Earth radio transmissions

Eight model moons for my model Saturn

Seven meal tickets for up coming astrobiology conferences

Six sided crystals

Five instrument ideas for a Titan mission probe

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in my science laboratory.

Eighth Day of Yule-Tide

 On the eighth day of Yule-tide my true love gave to me, eight rings for my model Saturn

Seven tour tickets for telescopes at up coming astrobiology conferences

Six sided crystals

Five environmental suit options for Titan

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in my science laboratory.

Seventh Day of Yule-Tide 2020

On the seventh day of Yule-tide my true love gave to me, seven event passes for up coming astrobiology conferences,

Six-sided crystals

Five mock-up tourist brochures for Titan

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in my science laboratory.

 

Tani fussed over her research

Fiddling with notes on presentations

Rerunning demonstrations

And becoming derailed by a new experiment

Because what if she incorporated a six-sided crystal

Infused with bioluminescence into the Titan space probe plans…

Time passed, Enceladus turned, and Tani muttered away in her lab.

A tinkling at the door caught her attention

Tani looked up, elongated head angled towards the door

Her true love approached and passed over the tinkling objects

Tani ran an arm over the objects and gasped

The words inscribed on the metal described them as event passes

For seven different upcoming astrobiology conferences

(Which is precisely what she had been preparing for)

Tani squealed and hugged her true love.

He also passed over a box compiled by various people in her life

A box with six-sided crystals

Five mock-up tourist brochures for Titan

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in her science laboratory.

Sixth Day of Yule-Tide 2020

 

On the sixth day of Yule-tide my true love gave to me, six sided crystals

Five Titan space-probe design options

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in my science laboratory.

 

Tani undulated happily through the water

Arm in arm with her true love

They squirted out of the heated submarine

Wearing heated suits

And ventured into a great cavern

In the seafloor of Enceladus

A tour guide flipped a switch

And the cavern filled with light

Light caught in towering crystals

Grown over centuries and uplifted

In this cavern

Six-sided crystals filled with light

Towering pillars

Dainty smaller crystals

Shining in the dark ocean.

Upon leaving Tani’s love bought her

A lovely six-sided crystal

To remember the day by.

And back in the lab Tani found

Five Titan space-probe design options

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To aid in her research.

Fifth Day of Yule-Tide

 On the fifth day of Yule-tide my true love gave to me, five budget signatures

For a space probe to Titan,

Four record discs for the radio telescope

Three UV fluorescing samples

And two microscope slides

To go in my science laboratory.

 

 

Tani floated in her warm cave

And dreamed of Titan

Of oceans and rivers and rains

Of hydrocarbon

Of a world where you could see the sky

From the ocean

Of a sky filled with vapors and gases and weather

Of spectrum spanning rainbows arching across the sky

Rather than billowing plumes

And the dark night of space

But still the hovering giant of Saturn

Would fill the sky.

It had been a good sixth of a year

Since the last mission to Titan

And Tani had hope

That this time she would go

That this time

She would travel the space between moons

And visit the famed Titan.

It was thus with great glee

That she heard the message left for her

In her lab

That five more benefactors

Had signed on to support the next Titan mission,

And in a neat box

Tied up with a bioluminescent ribbon

Tani found more materials to help her studies,

Four sound recording discs

Three UV fluorescent specimens

And two more microscope slides

All for her science laboratory.