Uncle George

Uncle George
Is long gone now,
But while he lived,
He flavored
My childhood
With his presence
And stoked the fires
Of my curiosity.
My father and him
Shared a passion
For fishing,
But Uncle George
Was much more than
Just a fisherman.
He had invented
Several types of
Rods and reels
Along with
A wide variety
Of fishing lures.
He apparently earned
Some royalties
From his inventions,
But largely lived off
Aunt Dofeen’s income
And never had a job.
He had a penchant
For unexpectedly
Showing up with
Odd creatures
Like the live octopus
Which he allowed
To squirm around
On the floor.
I never knew
What to expect
When he came over,
But he made sure
To always bring
Something to share.
Occasionally it would be
A Yellow Fin Tuna
He had caught
Deep sea fishing
Which we would than
Have for dinner,
And one time,
He brought
A couple lobsters
For dinner.
Uncle George
Had a series
Of aviaries
Where he raised
Canaries, finches
And love birds,
And he would
From time to time
Bring one of them
For us to keep.
Being a naturalist,
His back yard
Was a child’s paradise.
In addition to the birds,
He maintained
A lush tropical garden
With meandering footpaths
Surrounding a pond
Full of large goldfish
That I could hand feed.
My Aunt Dofeen and him
Were quite a pair,
And they used to bicker
Over the stupidest things
Like which end of a loaf
Of bread to open.
Uncle George was supposedly
Distantly related
To the Swedish monarchy,
And somehow or another
Aunt Dofeen tied herself
To English royalty,
And they used to argue
Over which claim
To royalty was superior.
You would have to
Have known Aunt Dofeen
To understand
How dubious her
Claim to royalty was.
She just didn’t fit
The stodgy English
Royal mold at all,
And if she was
Somehow related,
Her brother,
Who was my father,
Certainly wasn’t!
Uncle George
On the other hand,
Was always a dapper dresser,
And carried himself
With the dignity
Befitting someone
Of royal blood,
At least in our eyes.
He was the family aristocrat,
A man who
Deemed himself
Above manual labor.
There was something
Slightly odd
And a bit mysterious
About Uncle George,
But I didn’t ponder such things
As a child.
I heard plenty of stories though,
And I am not sure
Which, if any, of them
Were true.
I was told that he was
A draft dodger
From World War One,
That he hid out in Cuba
During the war.
Nonetheless,
He stoked the flames
Of my childhood curiosity
With his indomitable spirit,
Sophisticated airs,
Rouge independence,
And his obvious
Love of nature.
Sadly, after our family
Moved to Las Vegas,
Aunt Dofeen and him
Went their separate ways,
And he later died
A very lonely old man
With no one there
To hear his stories
Or enjoy his antics.