Lingerdog's World

The relic sits high upon the shelf
untouchable to tiny hands
shaped by a master craftsman
many years ago
a little man sitting on a stool
a corncob pipe puffing smoke
a glint in his eye
frozen there in time
the paint faded now
but still fresh in her eyes
even though he's gone now
these ten years
it was their first date
she thought it was cute
he got it for her
cost him what he had on him
they were poor
weren't supposed to make it
but against the odds
they lived happily
until the day
like a fast approaching storm
the sickness came
and took him away
and now it sits there
a reminder she doesn't really need
but one she cherishes
because it's a memory of him
she takes it down
hands it to me
in my small hands it seems huge
and she tell me about him
how he was a man
so much bigger than life
how his hands built this house
and how he had loved his family
she started to cry
her face a mask of misery
but also of joy
as she remembered
I held the figurine back out to her
with trembling hands she took it
she put it back in its place
then smiling took me in her lap
that was him she whispered
then took a photo from the shelf
your grandfather
how I wish he could have seen you