A Bright Life

Had he not passed away last July, my dad would have been 78 today.

My father had a gift for expressing his heart in poetry, a gift which I failed to fully appreciate until now. For the past six months I have been composing a poem in my head to commemorate this day, and now that it's finished, I'm unsatisfied.

How do you capture a person's life in a few stanzas? Maybe that's my problem. The subject is too large to be written on one page. And yet, it was so brief, like a flash of light.

A Bright Life

We watched in awe
As your meteor
Swept across the sky
Drawing a beautiful arc
Illuminating the landscape

Many were not watching
Did not look up
Many more were too distant
To see the sight
And remained unenlightened

But those of us who saw
Who followed the trajectory
Were witnesses to your brightness
We were transfixed
And were left breathless

Though the splendor was fleeting
The afterimage continued
Still visible to our eyes
Giving hope that
You might remain with us

But now your light fades
The blackness returns
Stillness gives way to motion
And though we desire to linger
Life goes on

Thanks, Dad, for teaching us
That whatever we do
Though it's insignificant
And will not long be remembered
It's important that we do it

Following your example
We will streak across The Cosmos
Braving the atmosphere
Blazing until we're exhausted
Shooting stars all

Happy Birthday, Dad. We miss you.