Father

I was born to older parents
 my father was 45
   ma was 39

He was born in 1909 in Italy
  sixth of seven
    brought here at one and half years of age

Held by his mother at the port of entry in New York
 and the story is his older brother hid under his mother's dress
  as I am getting on in years now
   I'm not sure that story is true
    and there's no one to ask

His father didn't want to be a priest
  they lived in Astoria
    he delivered ice
     I forget if it was with a horse and wagon
       probably
    They had coal in the basement
    He was strict
       very strict
    No one could talk at the table
    One of his sisters jumped out the window one night to go on a date
    In his old age he thought there were bugs on him all the time
  And that's about all I know about my paternal grandfather

My father married young
   very young
    and it didn't last
     I don't remember how long
       I'll say a year and a half
   but he had a son with her
    that he never saw again
     after the divorce
   and the son did not carry his name

He saw the Great Depression
   He never forgot it