Kindergarten

My grandson started kindergarten;
This is school day 4.
My job was simply walking him
Up to the entry door.

With his backpack on my shoulder
We strolled slowly, holding hands
And I felt the kind of feelings
Every Nana understands -

That the years have flown too quickly!
Wasn't it just yesterday
When I rocked him to accompany
A lullaby's soft sway?

At the school he grabbed his backpack,
Slung it over like a pro
And I faded to the background,
Where all Nanas need to go.

The Room Where It Happened

I peeked in the room where FDR
And Churchill made a deal –
The chairs and table where they sat
Made history so real.

I stood in the room where JFK
And Eleanor did meet.
Discussions there allowed him
To successfully compete.

Lin-Manual Miranda,
In his most successful play,
Described what I experienced
In Hyde Park yesterday.

It’s special being in the room
Where history occurred
But as to what went down there,
We have only someone’s word.

Daily

Eleanor Roosevelt, six days a week,
Wrote a column that many would read.
Since ninety-odd papers did carry her work,
She had all of the readers she’d need.

Called “My Day,” her writing described what she felt,
Where she traveled and all whom she met.
For twenty-six years she kept up with this pace,
Such a gig not too many could get.

Though I certainly don’t mean at all to compare,
She and I share that daily fixation,
But I’ve sixteen more years to catch up to her yield
And for that she gets my admiration.

Mansions

If your apartment or your house
Could use a slight expansion,
May I suggest, instead, that you
Just build yourself a mansion.

Today I've toured a couple,
Both in Hudson River towns.
With property like that, your moods
Should have no room for downs.

A bit of ostentation
Seems de rigueur, though, I guess,
But servants take good care of it,
So you don't have to stress.

If you're looking for an upgrade
And you've mega-bucks to spare,
Do like Vanderbilt or Church* - construct
A mansion for your lair.

*Frederick Vanderbilt and Frederic Church

The Start of School

School begins tomorrow;
All the teachers must report.
For most of them, the summer always
Seems to be too short.

They’ll decorate their classrooms
And mentally prepare.
For years I did the same but now
I’m glad that I’m not there!

I’ll sleep tonight without the dreams
That back-to-school inspired.
Let others plan and worry –
I’m at work being retired!

Warnings

Mosquitoes buzz to let you know
That they're about to sting
And snakes with rattles shake them
So you know the pain they'll bring.

Skunks release their special scent 
To warn you, "Stay away!"
And bears stand up and growl to keep
Their predators at bay.

There are certain creatures, though,
Who silently attack,
The way that certain humans do
Who stab you in the back.

After the Visit

My grandkids paid a visit
To our country house last week
And filled the house with joy 
Which emanated from each shriek.

I dragged out all the books and games 
From when their dad was young 
And played the old cassette tapes 
With the songs that Raffi'd sung.

The pillows from the couch made roads;
The dominoes made towers.
The dollhouse rooms were rearranged;
The playing lasted hours.

I'm back this weekend; they are not.
I miss their laughs and smiles
And all they left behind outside
Are stones in little piles.