As I Look Upon The Ruins Poem by Marilyn Lott

As I look upon the ruins
My eyes are filled with tears
From memories nestled in my heart
Countless and treasured years
I stayed away so long you know
‘Cause I knew things weren’t the same
It’s too late now – that cannot be changed
But no one was to blame
I reach inside and close my eyes
And remember way back then
Oh Grandma, how I wish that I
Could see you once again
To hold you close, to touch the clothes
That only you could wear
To press my face into the folds
And hold you oh, so near
Did your clothes hang on the hangers?
Once you had gone away?
It seemed to me a sacred place
A place I wouldn’t play
You made your household money
From selling eggs and milk
I loved your noisy chickens
And the sweet liquid smooth as silk
I remember your yellow roses
I can smell them even now
And even unattended
They stayed beautiful somehow
And Grandpa how I remember
The tractor that you drove
To work that fertile soil
And the perfect fields you wove
I’d climb that home-made ladder
When I was just a boy
I can smell the sweetness of the hay
And still it brings me joy
Oh Lord will you please hold my hand
And help me through this pain
The farmhouse that my family loved
Will no longer be again
But thank you Lord, for my memories
The happiness I knew
And put aside the burning hurt
And hold me close to you!