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My grandfather was an interesting man. |
Your restlessness not just your own In a family always on the move Crossing Atlantic and the Rio Grande With something to prove Your mother came from red and blue blood A turbulent mix in Empire Britain Where love poems by commoners To aristocrats could not be written She was sent by post to Mexico Later found love with an Englishman He took her from Texas to many places Advancing his career plan Your father needed to be rich With seven children including you Moving, moving all the time Depending on how the wind blew You ran away at fifteen Lived with an Indian tribe Were found, and transported to London The eldest son must be civilized But 30s London was a hard place Great Depression and the looming war The Nazis were in the darkness Knocking on the door You met your wife in Finsbury Park Took her from a policeman Into your lawless dance She loved her wild Guardsman She was a nurse and you a Grenadier Fighting Nazis for King and Empire From Dunkirk to the Third Reich While a pregnant wife fled London's fire You returned with Reichsmarks That burnt well in that small Welsh hearth Your daughter cared for by less worldly minds You had mapped a different path Your journey led away from Britain Soaring 'cross skies like a swallow A traveler, soldier, spy, and wildman But wife and daughter did not follow Oil companies paid the best Gave you a new opportunity You went on to South Africa Found peace in a new community Bigamy is a sin But that did not stop you Maybe you found happiness In that place that only you knew Cigarettes killed you at 62 Your daughter cried and gave no blame She loved her African Lion That America and Europe could never tame Notes ▼ |