These are the words my mother used
When she called me one afternoon
To relay the news of my grandfather
Her fathers passing
( to where I’ve never been sure but its a thing people say)

When I was much younger I had loved my grandfather a great deal
As I started to grow into the person I was to be
He resisted
With
Grimaces at my long hair
Mean spirited remarks about clothing choices

• • an old dog barking at a world he no longer understood

‘What the fuck you wanna go and do a thing like that for? You look like a damned queer. You used to be such a nice kid. Now look at you.’

It was no wonder my mother stayed in the closet until so close to his end.

I did not miss him. And I mourned his passing.