Last Chance

R.I.P. Kenneth M. Bartlett 03/28/1934 - 12/05/2007 , My grandfather, and the bravest man I ever knew.

 

Blood; Thicker than water,    

And stronger than my stubborn pride

You fought your battle, and won.

Sweet remission came with grace,

And then a second chance; 

A blessing wasted by rebellious youth.

Then eight years of silence, and in that time

You saw battle once again.

It couldn’t beat you. Not then, not ever.

Sweet remission came once more.

Another chance; Older, wiser

This time I took it, and I

 Still believed you were invincible.

Time and one final battle would prove me wrong.

Sweet remission would come no more.

As you were lying there, half a world away, unable to speak;

Morphine on constant drip, I said our final goodbye.

You were the bravest man I ever knew.

And, I remain ever grateful for my

Last chance to say, “I love you.”

 

Reviews

[Q'ANIL]

another great write...i can feel your grave sadness here...and i can understand completely...i have lost someone close to me...not in the same way as you have...it was sudden...so i understand the hurt you must be feeling...you must have been very close to your grandfather...your words speak this clear...

a heart striking write which works on many different levels and allows the reader a glimpse into your true feelings...amazing...

~CJM

[Samuel Dickens]

This is a beautiful and loving tribute to your grandfather. Being a grandfather with serious health problems myself, I find it especially moving.

[Ephialtes Jones]

powerful piece

[John McGrael]

the last couple of lines gave me goosebumps!!!!

i have never lost anyone whom i truly loved (ive lost my grandfather who was diagnosed with alzeimers before i was born; and my aunt died of cancer a couple of years ago, but i did not know her particularly well)

i have never lost anyone who i really loved

but you still succeeded in giving me goosebumps in the last couple lines!!!


no constructive criticism, only a thing that i saw in it and i liked
i liked the repetition: "sweet remission came with grace", and "sweet remission came once more"

but maybe... to continue that repetition; you could have somewhere in the ending, "sweet remission was no more" or something like that, just to continue the repetition
just a thought :)