Month: March 2023

Papa Sherwood

it’s been dark

out the window

thunder and lightning

since your daughter

called

and said the word:

hospice

home hospice

had to get off the phone

thought we made a deal

you promised

what happened

you’re 7 years short

of the deal

now your house

is flooded

the garden’s under

water

the birdfeeder just floated by

blueberries are bubbling up everywhere

your rose bushes are all a mess

your American Flag is soaking wet

now your tractor’s gonna rust

and your Christmas lights are shorted out

your camera lens got busted

your Velcro shoes are somewhere at the bottom

where your desk is

all the battery back-ups won’t charge

the locks have lost their keys

the keys have lost their locks

the grill just fell over

the crank to the ice cream bucket’s

gone

your coffee cups are in pieces

your postage stamps and envelopes

won’t stick

all your clothes in the closet

are too heavy for the hangers

your mailbox is up river

in someone else’s yard

your thermostat is set to heater

your watches and trinkets and gadgets

are scattered about

there’s no wind in your windmill

or footprints in the soil

the phone is off the hook

the table lost its setting

all the dishes fell out the cabinets

pictures missing out the frame

there’s debris everywhere

your house is spinning

off its axis

in Kansas now

with the cows

somebody left the gate

open …

go on then

your Mama’s calling

see your son waving

he’s been waitin

go on then

there’s your Daddy

coming up

on the horse

it’s ok

you can walk now

don’t need the cane

look at Frannie go !

she’s missed you so

go on then

Granny’ll be ok

you left her

in good hands

go on then

TL

The Well Within

as a parent

your natural

instinct

is to protect

your child

it’s not something

that goes away

with time

you never want

to see them hurting

and yet you know they will

there will be times

when it will hurt

and you cannot change that

for all the drops in the ocean

their journey is theirs

alone

they must draw

from the well

within

when things get

hard

to comprehend

in a black and white world

you mustn’t forget

the gray

the varying shade

of gray

it’s up to you then

to paint

not what you see

around you

but what you see

within you

like what the wise fox whispered

soft

to The Little Prince

“and now here is my secret,

a very simple secret:

it is only with the heart

that one can see rightly;

what is essential is invisible

to the eye …”

TL

For My Father

the drive took

3 hours

and one day

24 hours

1,931 miles

from here

to there

that’s how far

you drove

that day

I wasn’t in the car

with you

but i was

right there beside you

the whole way

it rained the whole time

but you kept driving on

through the dark

getting closer to the city

the city of lights

you made it

and had to pull over

overcome

it was a lot

but you made it

through

starting over

at the bottom

when you lose

everything

that matters

it gives you

perspective

an internal perspective

on life

you saw those Vegas lights

on the darkest dark of nights

blurred in the rain

and woke up

in the sunlight

and the birds were still singing

your heart still beating

and i was there

with you

and i knew

you’d be ok

i needed you to be ok

so i could be ok

so i could see you again

someday

be there

to bury you

30 years to the day

and I know

you’re ok

when I wake up

in the sunlight

and the birds are still singing

my heart still beating

i know you’re ok

‘cause i’m ok

TL