"Just the Way" A poem for my Grandpa Willy on his Birthday

"Just the Way"

Today. The 14th of November.
I usually remember
Grandma's voice on the line.
(Was I in Japan? Or some other far-away land?)

I can see her sitting peacefully
at her telephone bench (such a novelty when she bought it!)
next to her dial-tone phone with the giant numbers.

She permeates an energy as serene as Heaven must be
as she reminisces.

"Today would have been Willy's birthday." She tells me.
"I made him hot cocoa on the stove with milk, sugar, and real cocoa. Just the way he liked it."

Is that what Love is?
Knowing just the right way to serve our Beloveds?

I spoke with my father, his own father long gone.
"Yep. Dad would have been 105 today."
The measure of years no longer smacks of life ended too soon.

I never knew his sparkling eyes,
never witnessed his happiness as he danced,
never heard his laughter as he played.

I love to dance too. And though I never met you
I caught glimpses of the man you were
Through remembered Merry Dish-mops
Through talk of home made cream puffs
All the good stuff that memories can hold...

But I wonder, what stories would you have told?
Of your childhood? Your siblings?
Did you propose to Grandma with an engagement ring?

She said it was your smile that caught her eye.
She told me you didn't like thin lips.
Don't worry! Ours are all thick and full.

I never did see your eyes shine
But I do know just how they sparkled
For every descendant of your magical Mumm line
Has that twinkle of mischief–the light of Joy Divine.