The First Time

I wish I could remember

The first time that you held me,

Or the look on your face when

You understood that you were a grandfather.

I want to know what happened

The first time that I spoke to you,

The small words never enough

To express the love that you deserved.

And the first time that I took a step towards you,

Did you know that I wanted only to hug you,

To feel your embrace- as comforting

As a broken clock on a sleepless night?

Or the first time I walked to the bus,

Did you look at the pictures

And realize that time goes by too fast?

The first time I sat with the women,

Did you tell the men

That I was your young lady?

Did you worry that, for even one second,

I wouldn't need you anymore?

Did you keep in mind that, however old I get,

I will always need you?

Because now I wish

That my first time driving

Could include you as the instructor,

Sitting in the passenger seat

Guiding me through the path

That leads to adulthood.

And the first time I'm handed a diploma,

I wish you could be there

To see the high school graduation

Of your first ever granddaughter.

And the first time I tell a man I love him,

I wish you could be there

For me to whisper that you

Will forever come before him.

And the first time I hold my child,

I wish you could be there

To give them the experience

That you gave me as the

"World's Greatest Grandpa."

The first time that I knelt beside you,

And realized that it was

The last time I could be with you,

I cried for all the first times

That you would never see.