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Open Poetry #32
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I Wasn't There
| Open Poetry #32 |
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I Wasn't There |
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Kevo Member
since 2004-06-02
Posts 466Navarro County, Texas, USA 
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I Wasn’t There For T.J. This darkened room, so far from the doorstep that lifts across the threshold of refuge does not comfort, nor does it wrap me in the arms of my wife or my sons. I raised him from the age of 8. A fine young man he’s become. I was not there. When he crashed on his bicycle I met my wife at the hospital. I was not there while he laid unknowing, afraid, crying, looking for his home in our hearts I was not there. I was not there when he fought his first fight, when they tore his backpack and threw on the ground, when he came home troubled, afraid to return, wanting to move, wanting to find his home in our hearts. I was not there. I was not there when he drove for the first time; when he mistaked the brake for the gas Then mistaked the gas for the brake. When he stalled in front of his friends; afraid of what they might think, afraid to drive in front of them again, wanting to be home in our hearts. I was not there. I was not there to see him on his first date. I didn’t drive him. I didn’t see her. I didn’t offer him 20 bucks and fatherly advice. I didn’t see his nervousness as he turned to walk out of the house; another milestone for my beloved son. At least, for a moment, he wanted to stay home among our hearts. I wasn’t there. I was not there on Prom night to see him dressed to the nines in the tux he picked for himself, to see his mother slip with the clippers in the middle of his haircut, or to see the inconvenient rise of a pimple upon his forehead. To see his concern when he looked in the mirror to find it was okay. No one would notice. But, still a curveball in the way Prom night goes I wasn’t there to see him pick up his date. How beautiful she must have been. How proud he must have been. His little brother picking at his pants while Mom kissed his cheek and hugged him while pondering where all the time went. For a moment while she hugged him he wished he was home among our hearts. And, I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. Copyright, Kevin V. Reese, 2004 |
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| © Copyright 2004 Kevin Reese - All Rights Reserved | |||
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
I know the feeling  |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
there are so many times when we wish we were there, not just for our children but for out loved ones. A powerful write, reminding us just how quickly time flys and to take advantage of that time with the priorities of our lives, if we can...to remember we are needed as well as we need, perhaps even more so. Outstanding! Thank you |
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