{"id":229,"date":"2026-09-24T19:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T19:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/initialmockups.com\/robbinmadden\/?page_id=229"},"modified":"2026-09-28T23:55:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T23:55:19","slug":"poem","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/initialmockups.com\/robbinmadden\/poem\/","title":{"rendered":"Poem"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Grandma\u2019s Arms<\/h1>\r\n\r\n
\r\n tell us a story mama
\r\n my children said to me
\r\n about when you were little
\r\n \u2018bout your childhood history
\r\n what do you remember
\r\n how did it used to be
\r\n how does the winding road of past
\r\n become your destiny?\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n and i remembered...\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n grandma\u2019s arms at the piano
\r\n swaying wildly to the beat
\r\n and me in awe right next to her
\r\n thinking she was neat
\r\n the shadows danced across the room
\r\n and kept the beat in time
\r\n and i remember smiling
\r\n thanking God that she was mine\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/article>\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n
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\r\n an evening\u2019s entertainment
\r\n never cost a thing
\r\n when grandma told us stories
\r\n rocking on the frontporch swing
\r\n a never-ending journey
\r\n i was always packed to go
\r\n i remember grandma\u2019s stories
\r\n and how i loved them so.\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n grandma\u2019s arms in the kitchen
\r\n working hard at kneading dough
\r\n flesh and flour in combat
\r\n bathed in sweat and all aglow
\r\n everything she was to me
\r\n though clearly from above
\r\n was on that black, formica table
\r\n spread with noodles
\r\n made with love.\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/article>\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n
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\r\n grandma\u2019s arms made lots of coffee
\r\n piping hot and thick and sweet
\r\n and when we all sat drinking it
\r\n our circle felt complete
\r\n it\u2019s funny how the things you
\r\n did in life will follow you
\r\n \u2018cuz i\u2019m forever making coffee
\r\n like there\u2019s nothing else to do.\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n those fleshy arms would hold me
\r\n and gently touch my face
\r\n and deep within her love
\r\n i knew that this was my safe place
\r\n a soft warm world that smelled of her
\r\n and kept me safe from harm
\r\n was all i ever needed
\r\n tucked away in grandma\u2019s arms.\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/article>\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n
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\r\n when my grandma\u2019s time was up
\r\n and death was at her door
\r\n i knew with sudden clarity
\r\n things i\u2019d not known before
\r\n these knowings didn\u2019t frighten me
\r\n or fill me with alarm
\r\n for i just hunkered deeper down
\r\n into my grandma\u2019s arms\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n somehow it\u2019s been a thousand years
\r\n since last she held me tight
\r\n but i still see her blue eyes
\r\n smiling at me through the night
\r\n her love and lessons fill me
\r\n with the hope that i will be
\r\n equally important in
\r\n my grandchild\u2019s memory\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n - robin madden\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n for my grandma
\r\n Helen Partymiller Gratsch
\r\n 1897-1971\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n <\/article>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n \r\n \u2190<\/span>\r\n back to home<\/span>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/main>\r\n\r\n\r\n