Monday, October 21, 2013

End of the Day


A rare early day home
The sun was sitting off the horizon
My children playing in the yard
Asking for nothing more than my time

Pushing the swings, throwing a ball
Supper still an hour away
I take a minute to watch the sky
In the grass we all lay

Look at that one, daddy!
The colors are beautiful
I see a rabbit, I see a girl
My children’s views are real

As I agree with their imagination
It is only clouds I can see
Some time ago it seems
I lost the ability to believe

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A Fading Photo


You are kneeling down
   With a 2-year-old version of me
            Standing in front of you
            Grasping your left wrist with one hand
            And your hand in the other
A wedding ring reflecting back
   But the love would soon lose its spark
            (I wonder what you did with the ring)

We are both smiling
  Cheeks puffy
    High on our cheekbones
I don’t recognize myself
   The little one in the picture
   Is the spitting image of my second son

Looking at the picture I recognize the hollow echo of
   Pain when I concentrate on your smile

I had never seen this picture of us until today
A picture from the 70’s
            No filter needed
It is a beautiful moment of a happy father and son

I wonder when you really let go of my hand
   Because I feel like I’ve been walking
            Alone since I was born
But the picture shows me holding on to you
            Like any son would
            Like any son should in this world
                        Because we might stumble and fall

But I’ve walked myself to this moment
Some hard roads traveled
   Stumbled and fell
            treaded so many miles
            I’ve forgotten where I started
Until today
Until I saw this fading photo
   Of a father kneeling
   And a son standing in front of him
Grasping his hand for support
  So that I won’t stumble and fall