Yellow Letters
When my grandad passed away
We found beneath the floor
A beat up, sturdy wooden box
We’d never seen before
The reason that we found it
Was a floor board out of place
It was sticking out and I tripped up
And landed on my face
I could tell it was important
And I removed it with great care
Grandad loved us all so much
What would he hide down there?
Mum looked surprised as I was
As she opened up the lid
Slowly then, her tears rolled down
As she found out what he hid
Her face had turned from flush to pale
As though she’d seen a ghost
So many yellowed envelopes
He never meant to post.
Mum said that Grandad never wrote
While serving in the war
And all these papers sitting here
She’d never seen before
We sat and read together
Sharing tears and love as well
My grandad never wrote of war
As it was nothing short of hell
He couldn’t say the words out loud
But these letters had ensured
That maybe one day later
We would know what he’d endured
We placed them back into the box
And closed the lid up tight
I felt my grandad was at peace
When I fell asleep that night
For though he never posted them
Those letters got him through
For the final one said ‘War is done!
I’m coming home to you’
Sioban Timmer
- Submitted in response to Poetry Prompt #12
Sioban said: I just recently received copies of my Grandad’s war medals and have a special box to place them in, I think that put the idea to the front of my mind.
Australian Children’s Poetry 
I was drawn in to this poem with its wonderful progression from the initial discovery to the final resolution, while the whole was enriched by the descriptive and emotional content. Very satisfying.
Oh my goodness I can’t stop crying. What a wonderful moving peice. Well done.
Oh my goodness I can’t stop crying. What a wonderful, moving peice.
What a beautiful honour you have just given your grandfather.
On 29 Mar 2017 1:16 PM, “Australian Children’s Poetry” wrote:
> australianchildrenspoetry posted: “Yellow Letters When my grandad passed > away We found beneath the floor A beat up, sturdy wooden box We’d never > seen before The reason that we found it Was a floor board out of place It > was sticking out and I tripped u” >
Lovely, Sioban. We will never know what it was like for those in war and your poem expressed that beautifully. Thank you.
This poem is beautifully written and brings across real feeling. Thank you for sharing it.
brought a tear to my eye. fabulous.
Love the narrative.