Bigger Than Life

It is odd who we remember

From my childhood I remember

People as characters rather than

Who they are or names

 

We had cousins,aunts and uncles galore

I remember the family from Alberta

 Mainly cause I was intrigued by them

My aunt and her second husband

 

On an impressionable young girl

They left an impression of themselves

That comes to mind on days like today.

Why it came today, I saw a girl talking to herself

 

My aunt and uncle were rich ranchers

Her second millionaire husband I was told

To date I know she had three.

He was a tall heavy man, a pleasant redneck.

 

They came in fancy trucks and motorhomes

They always paid for the boxes of fruit

 We had to pick for them,10 boxes prune plums!

That always struck a funny bone with me,

 

This group of relatives seldom visited

Yet I always liked to hrear their stories

To listen to their life tales.

Mostly for the couple fascinated me

 

I don't remember their children

Even though I know we played with them

Uncle always sat in his chair sipping tea

Pinky in the air as English do

 

He never stopped talking

Ever, he would say basic replies

Like : yes, no, ok ,sure, of course, etc.

We had to really pay attention when he held a conversation

 

I was told that he became that way

From showing my aunt the courtesy of always

Answering or responding to her.

I wondered How she ever told the difference

 

To his actual answers or his habit

Of non stop replies.

Yet she was an entity in and of herself

A person  larger than life

 

Full of fun, stories ,laughter and love

Her passions and ideals always shared.

For she seldom stopped talking even

when it came to eating or breathing.

 

I remember the warm friendly kind personality

It radiated into my heart

Emphasized by her size

We were lucky it was summer when they visited

 

She was too large around to fit through the house door.

I was sent to get clean and take wherever needed

The milk stool from the barn

These stools were only a foot tall

 

Tthey weren't big around either

But aunty's legs were 14 inches long and

I was sure that big around

The stool was all we had she could sit on.

 

So This lovely woman five foot tall

As big around as she was tall

 With short round legs and arms

With big blue eyes and a killer smile

 

Talked her way into everyones heart

Her size always an impression

In our minds but nothing compaired to the

Larger than life impact my aunt and uncle

 

Left of love and friendship after their visits.

Reviews

[Eclectic Ichthys]

Great impressions of childhood memories, half-formed, yet clear in their descriptions.

[Ray Hamilton]

My childhood memories are always on my mind
Being raised in a very loving family these memories
keep me going through the hard times of life
Knowing the love my parents had for each other
keeps me looking for that soul mate I know is out there
That one honest loving lady just for me

This write of yours stirred up these memories
and for that I thank you
Well penned
Ray

[M.M.]

a good write, hugs m.m.

[doreen cyr]

awesome write sis
doreen

[poetaster]

i'd suggest correcting all the typos for better readability.

but i like how this poem captures your childhood memories and really brings the people to life. definitely gives an air of warmth. it's nice how your relatives were such interesting character and nice how you were able to convey that.

the only thing is to make it tighter by correcting the spelling errors.

[Your Tasty Field Adviso..]

full of memorie. memories are the greatest things to write about. they're so solid and beautifully great when put into words. wonderful poem. :D

[flash68lb]

draws me into memories of my own, this is what i try and do with my writing, connect with the reader in some way, drawing them past the first few lines. nice