Big Wes

Seems like the right piece to feature today.

Sometimes I get to talking
And I make that mistake.

Inadvertently, I say "My Dad
Is", or "does", or "has".

In that moment it hits me like
A steel-toed kick to the midsection,
And all of the wind leaves my soul.

That's when I realize all over
Again that you are gone.
That it's "was", or "did", or "had".

Never again will I hear you
So seized with boisterous laughter
That you begin coughing uncontrollably.

No more will your soft, yet jabbing wit
Gently set me on the proper path.

I have to find my own paths now.

Reviews

[DavidRyan]

This is amazingly well written. Sad, beautiful, a great ode to a parent. I use to sit in my house when I was younger, and extremely worry about what was going to happen to me when my parents were dead. How I would be able to set a VCR up without them, wash clothes, pay bills, take care of people I love/d. It's definitely a scary thought but it comes with getting older, I guess. And you hope that you're old enough to choose your own paths, and take care of your own family, and do just as good, if not a better job, than your parents. Like I said, well written. I'm glad I checked it out.

[Linda Stinson]

Sad to say, but I know how you feel. My dad is the reason I wrote growing pains. He was my last living parent and when he went the world became different in my eyes. I had to grow up. I always viewed my parents sort of like a crutch, one goes you can still maintain, but when the other went, it was terrifying to me.
To this day I am still standing, I wobble, but I don't fall down. So I guess they did something right. They are dearly missed. Thank you for the memory.
Beautiful write my friend.

[Babbette Francis]

Our loved ones never leave us, they live on in our hearts.
But I know exactly how you feel.