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Tangible, Physical
by David GarnerIf my grandmother were alive
would she still write me letters?
Would she still rarely call
but often write?
Would she still buy greeting cards in boxes of ten
with floral designs on the front
and dessert recipes on the back
and mail my mother and sister and cousins the same card I had just received?
Or,
would she be a convert to email and myspace?
Would she poke me on facebook
or IM me on gmail or yahoo?
What would my grandmother do?
Surely she still would write letters and cards.
Grandma would know that emails were not
tangible, physical
documents of love, news, and wishes. 01/21/2008 Posted on 01/21/2008
Copyright © 2025 David Garner
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Alison McKenzie on 01/21/08 at 05:42 PM I love this, David. Beautiful tribute. |
| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 01/22/08 at 07:40 AM More to this than one might suspect, I think. For one, in this case, I think it's a questioning of tendancies, of habit. Grandmother in this case--her propensities, ways on display. She saw things, did things a certain way. Whether, she would do differently is a matter of openness. Obviously the poem provokes questioning... of what kinds of communication offer what. Why would she write (cards all the same) rather than call? Is that more personal? We do not criticize grandma... but we allow her well set ways to illustrate poetically. (Excellently done here.) And aside from that, as to the technological question... I feel that email, cell phone, IM, etc are the dream of all ages fulfilled...the immediacy of the heart's expression instantaneously placed in the mind of another... (and yet, also... (these things are not exclusive) I still make handmade cards, each one different!) So my wish is for grandmas that move forward into the next tehnological adventure... may I be one... as long as possible! |
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