Talk of the Heart — To My Grandfather

My dear grandfather!

I remember, among the things I remember well, my restless perch on the edge of your bed, and your trembling hand caressing the locks of hair scattered over my forehead... and your blind eyes striving, with effort, to see what cannot be seen...

And your words to me then remain among the dearest memories of my heart: 'Are we alone?... I am going to confide something to you — keep this thing, my little one, until you grow up; keep it well... Beware of men — all men — and do not trust a single one of them.'

My eyes did not blink even once; it was as if they had been nailed to your frozen, beloved face. I listened with all my being, striving to understand your charge with all the understanding my seven years possessed... And I kept it well, as you asked; but its distant meaning was locked away from me, and remained obscure and dim...

Years upon years went by; with them I grew out of childhood's collar, and my dealings with people took on a new meaning... And little by little the import of your charge began to grow clear to me, and to steal into the understanding of the budding girl within me... So I built an impregnable line of defense between myself and the other sex, which you had charged me not to trust; and the feeling of reserve and wariness went with me — side by side — through the whole season of my girlhood. And to this very day, grandfather, whenever my heart beats for a heart, or two eyes shine into my eyes, it seems to me that a voice whispers your charge in my ear — and I draw back... and refuse!

And now, when I look upon my recent past, and measure the extent of the deprivation I have endured, I feel loftiness and pride, and a triumph over temptation. They say it is 'virtue'; but I know for certain that the source of this triumph is you... it is your precious charge, grandfather, which is still as firmly rooted in my heart... as my heart itself; and one day I shall pass it on to my own little girl... a wondrous legend!