Poem for Dad
Confronting life: the outside world
a trauma
where reminders of Dad’s death are everywhere,
all the time.
Each remembrance
a punch in the gut
an ache in my heart
a day terror
— over and over —
Dad isn’t here and never will be again.
He’s gone.
Yet, he is so very alive
in shared stories and memories
in pages of photo albums
in a treasure trove of relics,
artifacts of moments
collected over 80 years.
He left us pieces to discover
to carefully assemble and explore —
archeologists of his life,
we learn about him,
about ourselves,
and how to love each other more.
I love you, Dad. I miss you more than my heart can bear.
