Poems (Hoffman)/The Grandmas

by Martha Lavinia Hoffman

THE GRANDMAS

Perhaps I were a sleeping,
 Perhaps I were awake,
And maybe I was neither
 So what difference does it make?
I dreamed of a merry party
 As jolly as could be
'Twas all the dear, dear Grandmas
 Invited out to tea.
They came from near and distance,
 All the Gradmas I had met,
The dear, quaint, nice old ladies
 I never shall forget,
And some were oh, so funny!
 Such stories told that day,
And said such quaint, wise, solemn things
 As only Grandmas say.
Some told what kind of herb teas
 Were best for every pain
And some told all their troubles
 In such a minor strain,
And then they fell a talking,
 The Grandmas one and all,
Of some sweet, lovely boy and girl,
 I can't just now recall,
But one thing still I treasure
 Just like a costly gem
It was a little boy or girl
 Who had been kind to them.
One said a little grandchild
 "With softest step" (she said)
Had brought her lovely violets
 When she was sick abed.
And one, with such a cheerful smile,
 Said, that "a little dear"
Wrote her the sweetest letters
 A dozen times a year.
And one who had no grandchild
 And looked so sad and sweet
Said that somebody's grandchild
 Brought her nice fruit to eat.
And one who looked a little queer
 Spoke up then just as quick
And told how that some darling boy
 When she was very sick
Brought something lovely every day
 Said, "good morning" and good-bye."
He said: "You're someone's Grandma
 And that's the reason why;"
Then all the dear old Grandmas
 Put on their things to go.
I could not help a thinking
 Of some I used to know
Who didn't come to-day because
 They have grown young again
In that bright land of Heaven
 Where there is no age or pain,
And I thought of all the girls and boys
 And wished that I could say:
"Don't forget the dear old Grandmas
 For we'll all grow old some day."