Opa shows up, in absentia

If he were here, he would  have been goofy,

if he could have kept himself from crying,

but he can't.

So wearing his Elmo hat and bringing his book,

I sub in for story time.

Opa loves You.

Opa, the goofy guy with the balding head,

the man who loves children and animals so much,

he cries readily at their suffering.

A good man.

But we can't be sobbing for our loss,

Let's celebrate Owen in our lives and dance 

and sing, tell stories and read books, let's make jokes

and do goofy imitations.

We have so little time, let's not waste it on tears.

10/7/2021