Either in sixes or in sevens

My Grandma's bed had boxes under it.
I assumed they were full of patterns
She was a prolific seamstress.
She made a superhero costume for me
When I was five or six.
It was Robin, the Boy Wonder.
Not Batman, not Superman.
Robin. The Boy Wonder.

My Grandma sewed Noah
And Mrs. Noah and pairs of animals
Sheep, Giraffes,
I don't know, I'm doing this from memory.
My dad built an ark
On wheels. With a ramp
And a removable roof.
The roof had a hatch door so the giraffes could
stick their heads out.
Rabbits, Pigs.

My dad built an apartment
Over our garage
So my Grandma could live with us
She was not his mother
But she was Grandma.
Elephants, Doves
Her sons would not help my dad
And told him he would not succeed
But he was from Missouri
So go to hell.

My Grandma told me once
That I marched to the beat
of a different drummer.
It was true.
I spent a lot of time in her apartment
Playing with Noah and the Ark
Wearing my Robin costume
It had a yellow cape.

He finished it alone
My dad, that is, finished building the apartment by himself
He must have been around 50
I'm 50 now
I wish I could help him
I wish I could help my dad build an apartment for my Grandma

My dad could build anything out of sheet metal
He was a sheet metal worker
He belonged to the sheet metal workers union
Local 99
That's from memory
He retired when I was 17.
He died when I was 27.
He was 72.
I am now closer to 72 than I am to 27
But no closer to my dad

My Grandma had a record player
She and I would listen to Herschal Bernardi
singing songs from Fiddler on the Roof
We would listen to Gilbert and Sullivan's
HMS Pinafore.
Probably the D'oyly Carte Opera Company
But I'm not sure.
We would listen to Arther Fiedler and the Boston Pops
Playing the 1812 Overture.
With the cannons at the end.

I can still sing along
I still have that music
I am the monarch of the sea
and I never swear a big big D
and if I were a rich man
and I don't remember growing older
when did they?

I have my dad's table saw and drill press
They still work but I don't use them
When I got divorced my wife insisted I take them
Out of her garage
I moved into a small basement apartment
The table saw stood by my bed
The drill press in the closet
Waiting to be needed