Families and full moons,
Turkeys and holiday balloons,
Grandma’s scalloped corn,
Football games in the park at noon.

I watch as the years go by,
Children grow up and then they fly.
The elders grow older every year,
Telling stories,
Playing cards,
Drinking beer.

Whispers in the corner;
Telling tales,
About scholarships
And bridal veils.
Bobby, it’s not nice to stare.
Jessie, I love what you’ve done to your hair.

I long for the days of old,
Before family love
Had gone forever cold;
When my sister
Was still someone I knew,
And my brothers
Were friends tried and true .

These days we have drifted away,
To each other,
There is little to say.
Our family has been poisoned
By lies,
Fables that the others deny,
A tempest not meant for the wise.

And I,
As the years meander by,
Long for better times:
The smell of Thanksgiving morn,
And Grandma’s scalloped corn;
The elders growing older every year,
Telling stories,
Playing cards,
And drinking beer.