PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I can’t remember a time when I’d been in my grandparents’ house and not listen to the sounds of my grandfather’s guitar, playing soft melodies that resonate throughout the entire house. The sweet music always comes from his office at the basement, and even through closed doors, the sounds find a way to reach every person in the house – even if it is just as a small whisper in your ears. The guitar was a gift from his father the day my grandfather married my grandmother. And though he never really went to classes to learn how to play, he taught himself by listening to the melodies of old songs he liked. The funny thing is he never actually plays a song. All you can hear when he plays are the tunes that he tries to imitate from what he remembers from those old songs. I remember the first and only time I saw him play his guitar. I was playing hide and seek with my cousins and I went to hide to the basement, he wasn’t at his office so I went in and hid under the desk, five minutes later my grandfather came in and grabbed the guitar that was hanging at the wall, he sat in a small couch and before I could warn him that I was there, he started playing. I had always known he played, every time I was at the house I could listen to him, but for some reason he didn’t like to be watched or interrupted while he played his guitar, so I had never seen what I was about to. I watched him carefully while he moved his fingers along the strings, his eyes were closed and his head was lifted, as if listening really carefully to the music he created. It felt like I was intruding on something very personal, so I went out of the desk and he stopped playing. At first I thought he would be mad, but when I explained why I was there he smiled and asked me to sit with him. He told me that he doesn’t like to play in front of people because when he plays his guitar he finds some kind of peace. It’s a personal time where he can be by himself and forget about everything just for a little bit. He explained how it’s good to sometimes be alone and just do something that makes you happy. He always finds the time to play his guitar, at least once every single day. Since then, every time I hear or see someone playing a guitar, I picture my grandfather with his closed eyes, finding that little moment of peace and happiness.