Father's Day
One day when I am gone
You may choose to rifle through
These poems I’ve written
As a way to learn something
I may have kept hidden
Or find clues to puzzles
I left unsolved while still living.
This is the only one you will need.
Think of it as a skeleton key
That unlocks our secret black box,
Written before either of you
Were awake on a Father’s Day
Of no great acclaim.
As usual I was up inexplicably early,
Had paid some bills, texted my own dad
A happy day and readied for rounds
At the hospital. The grass needed
Cut and I had a toothache
I would continue to put off for weeks.
The years were going by so fast.
I was starting to look old in pictures.
What else is there to remember?
The potholes in Turks and Caicos?
The vicious biting spiders of Idaho?
The Spanish rental car fiasco?
Soon it will be your turn to add
To the catalogue of stories
Some kid will want to hear
Over and over and over.
Until then I’ll keep writing until I can’t,
Each word a quiet cord
Of firewood stacked in the shed
For you to use in the winter
Someday when it’s very cold
And no one feels like talking.
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