Bompa is a She Knows Media 2017 Voices of the Year Honoree in the Short Written Work category. The poem has been published in the Oakland Arts Review and Encounters.
His favorite word was Jackass
his name, Bompa (boom-pahh)
was from the Flemish word for Grandpa
\ˈjak-ˌas\
he spit this out of his throat while driving
flung it at bankers and mothers and teenagers and teachers
when they clogged the avenues in their cars
if the sun was out and his window was down
he broiled his fist into the air
he unclenched his fist to cook eggs with eight cheeses on Sunday
to play backgammon and sip smoked whiskey
to tell his story about the monk in the mountains
to thumb through books
to write a poem about a cat
he uncrumpled dollar bills on a counter to buy my eleventh birthday present
a Merriam-Webster Dictionary
big and red
a monument, it now lays on my desk
tucked inside was a letter
Treasure,
he called the dictionary
Jewels,
he called words
Beloved,
he called me
he wrote his name phonetically, with two o’s in the middle
The dictionary sat next to me
when I ate Bompa’s pasta with salt and butter
from a bowl filled with pale little dinosaurs
a stegosaurus, a triceratops, some sauropods, I swallowed them whole
grease stains decorate the pages
where the paper absorbed my fingertips
I looked at words until they filled me up
until the sun disappeared
and Bompa called me from his book-lined study
Bompa’s voice vibrated, as if from a whale’s belly
Danielle, there are no Rice Krispies in the house
he boomed
his paper skin reflected off my grandmother’s dark dark complexion
his head was a mound of sleek red waves
hers a thick black halo
oil and water, Black and white,
they were not expected to merge
but they did
together, they raised four children
and proudly walked the streets
an unfamiliar swirl of colors, rarely seen side by side
this hurt the eyes of bystanders
to soften the glare, it was only him they looked at
not the woman, two boys, one girl, and dark haired baby clustered next to him
it was only him they addressed
Can’t you see these are my children
No we will not sit in the back, this table suits us just fine
This is my wife
he boomed
waving away insinuations and would-be insults
when Bompa died, his hands were blue
and his back was warm.
Danielle James 
Such a moving portraying of your grandfather. Very touching. And what a lovely way to give you that gift , the gift of words. He was so right about that.
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Thank you Mia! It was an atypical gift but I loved it then, and even more later when I realized how this most likely influenced my love for reading and writing.
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This is so beautiful. Your Bompa would be so proud of you.
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Thank you so much Rhonda!
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This is just perfect. Think we’ll be following your stuff from now on. In fact, we’re always looking for stuff to feature on our site and in anlehtogios. Fancy connecting?~ Dagda Publishing
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Love this poem. Excellent work. #browngirlbloggers
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Thank you! ❤
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This is one of my favorite poems of yours. I actually just read it in Encounters yesterday, haha! I really like the changes and again, I think the images make a world of a difference. Seeing his letter to you from the gift against your interpretation of it was one of the main additions I really loved (“Beloved Child/Woman,” is the greatest). And also, the family pic with so many people but he is looking at you is so sweet.
The eggs, the backgammon, poetry and pasta with butter and salt, it is all so familiar to me, I felt like I was back at my grandparent’s apartment. These small details are so important and you make sure the reader can kind of see him as a person before delving into two of the more major themes or qualities about him, the first being the importance of words / communication. The other being his telling anyone uncomfortable with his biracial relationship/family to fuck off. I especially like the contrast of people looking at him to “soften the glare” but he didn’t stand for it and “boomed” in his reply, not letting anyone insult his family.
He seems like a great person to have known, and yeah, I just really love this poem.
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Danielle this is amazing. I love it. I’m so impressed. It’s a beautiful piece of writing.
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Hi Erika,
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. ❤
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This is so beautiful. A part from the themes you brought out, you use of words is just awesome. Loved it.
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Thank you! Appreciate your feedback.
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great points altogether, you just gained a new reader.
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