Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Grandfather's Speech

It's Thanksgiving today, with its food and parades,
And the house is alive - as the guests all invade -
With the laughter and joking of family and friends;
All the uncles and aunts and the cousins attend.
From the tallest to shortest the children all stand,
While their grandfather speaks every word that he's planned.
All the adults and elders they gather around,
And the young ones, they fidget, but they make not a sound.
With his slow, steady speech he tells of the days
When emails were letters and movies were plays,
And the X-box was baseball, and TV was books,
And a Thanksgiving dinner was work for five cooks.
Now the children all shuddered, and thought of their toys
That had brought them such laughter, such wonderful joys,
And they thanked God above for all of these things,
With the comfort and ease that technology brings.
But their grandfather finished his Thanksgiving speech
With these words from the heart, and a twinkle for each:
"When I think of the things that I missed as a child,
All the gimmicks and toys that amused and buguiled,
And I think of my life with its own sorts of play
That would bore you to tears, well, I just have to say:
I am thankful today for those old building blocks,
And for scissors and pens and a big cardboard box,
For my old cowboy hat and my cheap baseball glove,
And for family made rich by a deep and true love."

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