My Grandfather’s Old Photos

My Grandfather tells stories
As he looks at old photos
He points at faces and says names
Names I don’t recognize

Photos from long ago
When he was younger and stronger
And did not need a machine
To help him breathe

Photos of his brother and aunts
Parents and childhood dog

Finally he stops
And points at one
Where he sits frozen forever
Next to a toddler

“I don’t remember who that is”
He says in a voice weighted
By memory and sadness
“And there’s no one left
Who could tell me.”

 

 

Andrew Maust was raised in Honduras and Ecuador and grew up speaking both English and Spanish. He holds an MA in English from McNeese State University and teaches at Pennsylvania State University. He has recently had pieces accepted for publication by The Raven’s Perch and Defenestration Magazine.