Image via FatherhoodConference.com

Blood always remembers bone,
And the tree recalls the seed.
The universe is built on nested boxes,
And hardwired to realize need.

What I’ve given comes back
What I’ve taken is forever gone.
When all goes black, and never comes back
Will it leave with a scream or a yawn?

Reaching out to those that got left behind,
Helping up those who have fallen down,
Looking in to see what I’ve become,
I see half a monster and half a clown.

‘There but for the Grace of God
Go I’, they’ve been known to say.
Yet even with Faith, and trust in the Lord,
I have ended up there, anyway.

Ride out the storm, stay in the boat,
The advice is not easy to hear.
Because when things are at their darkest
Is when the Grace of God is near.

If these words touch you, that is just fine,
Tho I write them for my own self’s sake.
I am aware of how much I have paid
For the right to inherit my own mistake.

Looking into the eyes of my children,
Giggling while snuggled under covers,
I bear no regret for once trusting you,
For thinking we were more than just lovers.

To hold their hand, and train their steps
Has proven worth all of your grief,
To hear their voices say Happy Fathers Day
Gives it own special brand of relief.

I am proud of them, more than you’ll know
Proud of how they survive your dementia,
I would rather eat your constant bile
Than be a parent in absentia.

So bring it on, do your worst,
I will give even better than I get.
You will never defeat me, never win,
I’ll never succumb to regret.