I can't seem to stop writing poetry or reading poetry. I think it is safe to say I love poetry and I love sharing great poetry with others.

Grandma’s Friendship Bench

No one listens as well as Grandma’s do

even seasoned therapists fall short of

how Grandma associates herself love

and how the Grandma bench began and grew.

A large community of the anxious

now lived under the trees and local parks

outside their tents a tethered dog soon barks

to rap upon the neighborhood’s conscience.

With not enough therapists in the State

to sit with them and calm their frenzy down

Grandmother's took a stand to volunteer.

These Grandmothers would sit and test their fate

or their ability to turn on frown

or try to remove deeper buried fear.

A little anxiety mixed with angst

to turn a community on its head

and then add days where people are not fed

so much opportunity gone to waste.

An experiment here from overseas

with trained local Grandmas here on the scene

on benches in the parks they painted green

just Grandma waiting patiently to please.

Such simple solution to the problem

a return to our deep family feelings

to lose anxiety in Grannie’s smile.

The power of just sitting with Grandmum

like Silver and Gold spent in our dealings

to make up time and sit for a long while.

Can we fight depression and suicide

with modern medicine or with a shot

when numbers point at a worrying lot

with Mental Health Professional’s hands tied?

Then blessings from an unexpected source

a chance for Grandmothers to leave the house

with training sit with hurt and then espouse

an appropriate therapeutic course.

When need for answers to a problem push

the hands of players training hard to help

to find a successful solution quick,

we find human connections will ambush,

that Grandma knew us since we were a welp

and made us chicken soup when we were sick.

In past we searched for electricity

a modern world with modern lifestyle choice

we may have softened, muted, family voice

but science cannot offer how to be.

Instead of pushing forward we should stop

to breath and see what we already have

we need to remember the ones we love.

We need our Grandmothers to ease the shock

to remind us their is always a fresh start

let’s bring our families stories back from lore.

© 2020 Jamie Lee Hamann

Comments

Jamie Lee Hamann (author) from Reno NV on April 16, 2020:

Yes they are are. Thank you for reading. Jamie

OLUSEGUN from NIGERIA on April 15, 2020:

Grandmas are wondrous people.

Ann Carr from SW England on April 15, 2020:

I saw online that there is already a Grandmothers' Council in Africa; I googled it after I read this poem. We could do with more around the world. They probably do already exist but I haven't come across one in the UK. I will look further into it.

Ann

Jamie Lee Hamann (author) from Reno NV on April 15, 2020:

Thank you for taking the time to read and leave a comment. The Grandma Friendship Bench was used in Kenya and was proven effective. The world should look into this as a possible solution to community mental health issues. Jamie

BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on April 14, 2020:

Nice write.

I miss my grandma. I loved the talks we used to have and remember them well.

There is definitely a purpose for grandmas.

Venkatachari M from Hyderabad, India on April 14, 2020:

Very nice poem, Jamie, with a good point.

Grannies can be of much help and respite in times of such dark moments or tensions of life. Simply sit with them for a few minutes and you will experience a lot of relief and satisfaction that you can't buy with Gold.

Thank you, Jamie, for sharing this wonderful poem. Stay blessed.

Ruby Jean Richert from Southern Illinois on April 13, 2020:

This is beautiful and true. Our Grannies were worth their weight in gold. I don't remember them being told.

Ann Carr from SW England on April 13, 2020:

We certainly should stop and think about what we already have, Jamie. Great poem. There is much wisdom in all the grandmothers of the world, of which I am (modestly) one!

We are not a nation which respects elders much, or they are patronised as 'old dears' by some. When you think of the experience of lifetimes, all wound into one, what depths of knowledge we could tap!

Maybe there should be a Counsel of Grandmothers - that would succeed rather well, I think...

Well done, Jamie.

Ann