It was the
second call in a month
To wake us
early in the morning
To tell us
it was too late
Or it
would be soon
This was a
trip I didn’t want
Driving
the twenty or so miles
Knowing
the end was near
Listening
to the radio
Only to
hear the demo version
Of “Bridge
Over Troubled Water”
The simple
notes lifting the lyrics
Hefting
them into the air
To pierce
me to my core
It was
good the freeway was empty
That I
didn’t have to obey the rules
I was
distracted
Caught up
in the song
In the
thoughts from the day before
I had been
up to the hospital
Had just
seen dad sitting there
The
surgery would be in the morning
His second
open heart in five years
There was
concern
But he was
young and strong
At least
that’s what we thought
He told me
we only had a few minutes
His
brother was on his way
But we
should talk why we had the time
Uncle Ron
never showed up
We talked
for over an hour
Then it
was time to go
Not that I
had to be anywhere
It was
just time
Someone
else needed their moment
Needed
that time with dad
The time
they would need
For
comfort in the coming days
It was his
last gift to me
As I was
leaving we prayed together
He offered
the words
Simple and
pure
A comfort
for me, not for himself
Not for
his need but mine
I made the
trip home
All the
while pleading to the heavens
Against
something I already understood
That’s not enough! That’s not enough .
. .
Someone
else knew better
Had let me
know the truth
Even if I
didn’t want to hear it
It turned
out he did leave
It was all
just too much
The
diabetes was too advanced
His heart
was too weak
He went
under and never came out
I held my
mother later that day
As the
woman who never cried
Sob
uncontrollably into my shoulder
I thought
back to my last trip
To
be with dad
As he held
my hand at his bedside
He was
leading me
Like
he had my whole life
Holding
the hand of his child
On
a treacherous path
Making me
steady
So
I could carry on
I am a friend of your sister in law and found this through a facebook post. It is a very touching and heartfelt poem that left me with chills. I know I'm a stranger, but my heart goes out to you.
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