Grandparents

We are the ones who dream

of rocking babies on our knees

and rejoicing with grandchildren

under the wedding canopy

Instead we take up the slack

of absent husbands

while the family car sits in desert sands

so its driver might

get home for an hour or two

We drive grown children to work

and smaller ones to school

pick up whoever needs picking up

whenever

wherever

Make sure that if

a father can't get home

his family is not left

without a man

to bless the Sabbath meal

Lie awake at night

worrying about grandsons

out there

and even grey-haired children

serving still

because they feel they should

Pour our love and care

into the mixing bowl

of devotion

Add our prayers

and watch them rise