grampa dumptruck

both of my grandfathers worked for the state of new york
driving trucks
snowplows in winter
dumptrucks in summer.

I used to see them drive by sometimes
when I was little + I’d get all excited.

I always wanted to go for a ride with my grandfathers
in their dumptrucks but mom + dad said don’t ask
’cause it’s against the rules for grandfathers
to let their grandsons ride in those
official new york state
blue + yellow dumptrucks.

that was pretty hard for me to understand at the time.

anyway I got older + started feeling smart + then
the next thing I knew I felt kind of goofy + ashamed
whenever I saw my grandfathers working
on the side of the road or driving by in their trucks
especially if I was with my friends.

at that point in my life
I couldn’t believe I’d ever wanted to
ride in some dirty old dumptruck
but if one of my grandfathers
drove up in one today + offered me a ride
I’d jump right in.

(PDF version)

The grampa dumptruck by Rick Belden, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.