Poem by Matthew Grigg

Dearest Pa,
For you I write,
So you can sense,
Your perpetual twilight.

For we live in you,
Your statue of gold,
That Mallee expression,
Of truth known and untold.

A mosaic of memories,
Of Patche recollections,
A reaped harvest of plenty,
Of sweet pure reflections.
 
You are our Cowboy Bill,
Our hero’s dreams of bliss,
Of starlit lonely bush huts,
Of subtle snakes conquered hiss.

We sat astride Barney,
On his towering placid form,
And we imitated Bess Get round!
As a wonderful childhood norm.

We accepted two-dollar coins,
At Easter Sports with glee,
Not realising till older,
Others sacrifices to be oh so free.
 
For we marched with pride,
Down that nostalgic Anzac avenue,
Our return salutes somewhat matching,
The bands oft mistimed noted hue.

We remember sitting on your knee,
Steering the old Fairlane,
And now Pa’s special butter melted,
Still drives us all insane. 

Your reams of silent strength,
Were cemented by the sight,
Of the biggest Ram still drafted,
As we marvelled at your might.

But there’s many little fragments,
Glassy shards you didn’t see,
That are crystal in reflection,
Of what you mean to me.

We perceive of love’s enduring grace,
With Nana by your side.
Of how affection’s deep respect,
In a handshake can reside.

It can take the form of pen and page,
To a distant boarding school,
Or to my sweet other Nana M,
In a sometimes-lonely whirlpool.

You hold our morals rapier,
To pierce doubts deep despair,
So Dad can proudly say to me,
There is no man as fair.

Pa, you are a man of integrity,
And hopefully have taught us to be too,
A genuine and kind man,
A Mallee man through and through.

And every time in my mind,
I think of what you do,
I hear your prolonged thoughtful -Well!
And I smile because of you.

Pa, we love you now,
We’ll love you still,
We’ve loved you always,
And with God, always will.

Matthew Grigg, 26th January, 2005