Family Secret

She recited a poem at the funeral service
In honour of her beloved grand dad
She told of one who was good and kindhearted
'You'd say in him there wasn't any bad'.

She said my grand dad was a special person
And in many years from now i will recall
The gray haired man who was my inspiration
'She did not know him that well after all'.

She did not know that her grand dad hit her grandma
The grandma that she never really knew
The grandma who died in her early sixties
Eighteen years ago when she was only two.

She do not know grand dad was a wife beater
Something her mother from her kept ahide
The gray haired man who was her inspiration
Was one to whom there was a darker side.

She do not know that her seemingly gentle grand dad
For years had been a bastard to his wife
That he had often hit her with his closed fist
And gave to her a miserable life.

Her mother keeps from her the family secret
That her grand dad was not all he seemed to be
But in a sense she's better off not knowing
As it would taint for her a marvellous memory.

She recited a poem she composed for her grand dad
And in many years from now she will recall
The old man who for her was a role model
'She did not know him that well after all'.