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Sundays in Hudson

My grandfather was a dinner-table skeptic. 
I never saw him regard the things
he didn’t understand, like the
directions on oatmeal boxes
or why people suddenly held his hand, 
so brittle it could dissolve at their touch. 
He told me that he owned a telescope
but not a watch, because the stars
kept him sane, while the days stole his mind. 

I asked him what he thought of me, 
but he just flipped the TV channel, 
muttering into his plate. And I watched
as he cursed the saints he mistook
for sinners, like the makers of
hearing aids, because he was tired
of listening to the world sigh. 
And 90 years had robbed him
of the only woman who made sense.

About the Author

Jamie Brian is a freshman public relations major at Kent State University. When she is not getting lost in her head, she enjoys going to airshows and playing guitar. She can often be seen wandering around campus with a notebook and over-sized sunglasses.