I'll Forever

I'll forever be inspired
By all that you did
By all that you stood for

I'll forever regret
That we never got more time together
That you never knew how you affected me

I'll forever care
Even though I can't remember the last time I told you
Because although you were never the mushy type I know how much you cared

I'll forever remember
Your strength and conviction
Your wit and your many talents

I'll forever compare
How much we were alike
My love of writing to yours

I'll forever smile
When I see Larry King on late at night or a box of Fig Newtons
When I think of the Appalachian woman on your book or the god damned Waltons

I'll forever miss
The impact you had on everyone, big or small
The way you always affected those around you, good or bad

I'll forever regret
That I never made more of an effort to learn from you
that I never made more of an effort for you to know me

I'll forever think of you
Whenever I'm around the rest of the family
Whenever I write something because I think you'd like that

I'll forever be thankful
Because I think you bequeathed onto me your affinity for prose
Because the values passed down to me were passed down from you

I'll forever wish
That we were closer literally and figuratively
That you could read this

I'll forever cherish my memories of you
Because you may have had your own way of showing it but you loved all of us
Because I took for granted all that you meant to me

I'll forever hope
That you know everything written here
That you feel that way too

I'll forever pray
That you're at peace
That the gifts that were stolen from you will be returned

I'll forever love you
Because you were the silent influence on my life
Because you are my Grandmother and you can never be replaced