One of Opelika’s Finest
just
read your name
and blinked
‘cause it couldn’t be …
not Jerry Teel
didn’t we
just shake hands
and share a laugh
at that chamber thing
62 …
you had so much more …
left to do
and had I known then
that I’d never see you again
that I would miss your funeral
all of it
I would have
held your hand longer
and told you
how I never forgot
your patience and kindness
those late night calls after council
how you’d understand
all the questions
knew the deadline
and how tight the page
how you’d cut the fat
and sum it up
so it’d make sense somehow
how you always took the call
even when it was hard
to take it
and when I’d see ‘ya
on the street
you’d meet me
with a smile
something nice
to say
and ask me about
my kid
yeah, I remember that
you were a husband and a father
so you knew …
what mattered
TL