PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

This is a present memory. I remember as if it was yesterday. Every Sunday we went to visit them, my great-grandparents. I remember quite well that he was always sitting in his chair at his office waiting for us to come and ask him to take a “Coronado Lollypop”. That box was always there, sitting right next to my great-grandfather. This box remembers me of him quite well because of the painting on it. My great-grandfather was from a little southern Italian town called Tortorella. He lived a simple life down there, not much electricity, no technology, no communication, basically living a life on the fields as it was used to over there in those types of small towns. I remember that one day I went hiding to his office and grabbed a lollypop from the box, right next, there he was, standing on the door looking at me. He said some words in Italian that I can’t quite remember of, but I learned something new that day. I learned that stealing is not a good thing because at the end, you are going to regret it. I look at the past and say to myself: “I really didn’t get to know my great-grandfather quite well.” (Because when I was a kid, he was already on his 90s). I often hear my father speak of him and hear all the life lessons that he learned from him. Due that he was a simple man that traveled to the other side of the world, seeking for opportunities to give his family a better life; he took care of everything that he had. That is the most important lesson that he has ever taught to me, even though that I didn’t hear it from him in person. I remember the day of his passing. At that time, since I was a kid, I didn’t understand the meaning of death quite well, and I thought, “oh well, I will just go for some lollypops next Sunday, he will be there to give one to me”. Some years later, I arrived home from school and saw his lollypop box on the top of my bed. That day was quite astonishing for me, due that the box made me remember everything from him. I opened the box and saw a few lollypops left, they were all rot and old, but I kept the box because every time I see it, it makes me think of how fortunate I am because of my great-grandfather, and make me feel like a little kid, waiting for Sunday to go get a lollypop from his beloved great-grandfather.