Poem of the Week: Words for My Grandfather

Words for My Grandfather

In June of 1917 when I was 21

I signed up for the draft for the War

And created a mystery.

All my life I went by Lawrence Harrison Verner

But on the registration card

The registrar spelled my first name “Laurence”

And I signed as “Lorans.”

What would account for this?

I couldn’t spell my own name?

I made a mistake out of nerves?

I gave the registrar a French spelling

Because of bad feelings against Germans?

Whatever the cause, I left a mystery

For a grandson I never knew

Who bears my middle name

And who wrote these words for me.

--Danny Harrison Verner