Hang Up, Grandpa

Once again, I could not stop talking;
Once again, I would not shut the heck up.
Although others tried to end that long call,
I was on a roll, not stopping at all.
This desperate grandpa would not shut up,
 But stretched the Christmas call without balking.

And once again, I repeated myself.
My mouth kept moving, mind striving to find
Topics and aches and pains to keep chatting,
Until the others gently combating,
Insisting though both gentle and kind,
Twas time this old Elf got back on his shelf.

Once again, I simply couldn't let go.
I can talk until the batteries die,
Beyond the limits that most can endure,
Dragged once again on the nickel tour:
Thread-bare stories and memories awry.
And gently, they tell me it’s time to go.

Mick McKellar
December 2023