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.