Donna Gilboe (1915-2008)
Posted by Michael on June 2, 2008 under Personal | 
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My grandmother, Donna Gilboe, passed away this Saturday. She was always incredibly supportive of everything I do, and as I was unable to make it back for the funeral, I thought the next best thing I could do was to set one of her poems to music.
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Dreamy Times
The piano was old and dusty,
It hadn’t been used for years;
But when I played a melody
It’s tone was sweet and clear.
‘Twas up in the attic I found it
Back in the dust and gloom -
If only in the lamplight I could see it,
All polished in a beautiful room!
As I stood there gazing and wondering,
It seemed to talk to me,
And finally I seemed so far away
I wondered where I could be.
It seemed I was in dreamland
Many miles away,
Where all they did was sit and sing
And play, and play, and play.
Suddenly I was back in my own world
But it did not seem real to me;
For I was up in the quaint old attic
With my head on the dusty ivories,
Donna Gilboe ’32
My grandmother wrote a lot of poetry. I remember her telling me when I was young, that the only time she was published… she was plagerized. Someone else submitted the poem and took the credit. She never really let her poems get out after that. I hope she doesn’t mind now.
When I saw this poem, I was stunned. This seemed the perfect one to do. The lyrics seem to be about her, and me… her art, my art… our relationship… and with two slight word changes in the final chorus, I got to say my goodbye.
The melody came to me quickly, as if it had always been there.
I just wanted to put this out and figuratively spread her ashes a little bit further.
Goodbye, Grandma. I love you and will miss you.
