My Nana

My Nana - A poem by Liam Murphy

When I was a little boy, off to Nana’s I loved to go.

I’d head off down to number 9, or down to Uncle Joe’s.

Days on end I’d spend down there, oh the smell of apple tart!

Even to this day the smell of fresh bread lifts my heart.

My Nana, Peg, a lovely lady, I was her pride and joy.

She’d bring me to the shops with her and spoil this little boy. 

We’d head to ‘Lanes’ or ‘Brouders’, places now a memory.

Some’ Liquorice Allsorts’ or ‘Mini Rolls’ she’d always buy for me!

I remember my Grandad Moss as a very quiet man.

His shed a wondrous treasure throve for inquisitive little hands.

We’d watch the snooker in black and white, fun for the both of us.

Explaining points scored in shades of grey really was no fuss.

I moved down to my Nana’s the night my Grandad passed away. 

To keep her company for a night or two, I didn’t think that I’d stay.

I lived with her for two more years, the best times of my young life. 

To come and go as I pleased, with no trouble or no strife. 

When time came to go to college, the world opened up for me.

She loved to hear how I was doing and how things were in Tralee.

She got to meet my future wife, had so much time for her namesake.

And every week just for me, a fresh loaf of bread she’d bake! 

I was with her a few short hours before she sadly passed away.

She was with me only weeks before, on my graduation day.

That’s a memory I’ll always cherish, I’ve some lovely photos of her too.

My Nana with her little man, her beaming smile lit up the room!

I wish she got to see our boys, wouldn’t she have loved them? 

Four little lads for her to spoil, more ‘Mini Rolls’ and mayhem!

I know she watches over them, every night when they’re asleep.

Along with Grandad and Uncle Joe, in our hearts they will always keep. 

I still see Nana and Grandad when at the church In Abbeyfeale. 

Down there in the last pew, when I bend down to kneel.

I feel them smiling at me, telling me that I’m doing fine! 

I’m older now with a few grey hairs, and the odd faint wrinkle line!

The years may come and go but we never forget our own.

We are older now with busy lives, watching our children grow.

My Nana has a special place, in my heart she’ll always stay.

She will always be my Nana, beyond my dying day!

05/09/2018