Hands

The speaker references their grandfather’s hands twice within the space of the poem: “I know his left hand is on / the tobacco in his pants pocket” (Lines 9-10), and again at the very end: “I remember his hands” (Line 22). Here, hands are presented as a nurturing and protective force; the speaker took comfort in them as a child. Even though the grandparents are implied to be elderly (and certainly through the eyes of a four-year-old anyone older than 40 is as old as the hills), yet the man’s hands are full of strength and vitality. They represent the spark of life that the speaker remembers most.

Lemons

The speaker’s reference to their grandfather smelling like lemons indicates the power of scent memory. The human olfactory sense is intrinsically tied to specific memories, and in this moment the smell of lemons becomes a reference point...