Larry

he came to warn us 

that our roof was frozen

from the horizon down.

he spoke in spurts, 

one hand searching his pocket for words

the other hand reaching for the stability of a shoulder.

he “only came over,

because I saw you raking”

because “who tends their own yard these days?”

which led him a bit astray
before instructing us a little further,

instigated by his left hand that sprung loose a thought 

a small moth that quickly perched on his trembling right

to preach about the family entity,

how, being responsible for one another

isn't begrudging, but begetting...
then, he looked into our eyes but went way far off
gifting me a reflection—

and i was thankful for the thoughts of grandfathers,

and their arms, longer, bonier but still strong and warm
then as if my change of thought off putting
his hands itched at his clothes for something else,

one took shelter in the vest and the other a pant leg

and I stood in awe at this creature

that extended downward from his
World War veterans hat

with purpose and might, 
(though he's half his youthful stature)
and when they felt safe again,

his hands came out to count out for us,
the four reasons he keeps on living:
to live every last day with his wife

to hopefully experience great-great grandparenthood,

to be the last WW2 veteran above ground

and to deliver his full treatise on the family as a unit—
"go before one another, stand beside and come after.
stay close and don't get lost, and if so...find and be found".

i thought again about what it might be like

if my grandfathers were alive,

and I stared too much at his bottom teeth

as they stood  close together, strong and crooked 

just like theirs, just like mine 

both naval veterans themselves

with hardly a word on anything
save to tell us what was right—
life is confusing outside of that certainty

(though they would pull you down a rabbit hole just as well).

I was awestruck and thankful 

and wanting to reach out and hold steady 

the twitch of his hands 

once again confused, homeless 
and building static against his windbreaker
searching out their place 
in this unknown territory of our yard

but I didn't, out of respect
which is upside-down
because he leaned upon my husband 13 times.

I promised to remain for one and all,
(as much as any human can)
indivisible to both right and wrong,

because as responsibility teaches us
we are all of it, and all of it is pro-us in the end

we only gain from the experiences
of one another, the attempts and non-attempts,
successes and failures of what came before me

and in the end, maybe the insulation
wasn't holding in or out as much as it should

because the roof is half-thawed and half-frozen…

or maybe it is just as it should be,
because that is how we met Larry.