Substitute Grandfather

 On the rare occasions
I'm back in our old town
I drive by the house
you lived in
and remember
the coziness of 
your living room
and the cheerfulness
of your sun porch

and how we bonded

over our mutual love

of science fiction and

the oddities of the universe

and, of course, our

hatred of TV evangelists.

You were like the grandfather

I always wished I'd had,

encouraging me to write,

to be a free thinker,

remain curious about all things

and to enjoy every moment

of life that I could.

(So unlike my real grandfather.)

You would say that

you left this world

at just the right time

in your life,

but you left it

much too early

in mine. - Jeff Barnes