Drawing the sky blue curtain
Infinity revealed
Here we draw together
To feel the connection
Through all that is
To each other
Here we draw together
To feel the connection
Through all that is
To each other
Most of us are allowed a choice there
To dive right in with more or less grace
Or cling to the land against the inexorable tides
No matter the choice, whether or no we have one
We are all, inevitably, drawn down into that great depth
I rather like to think a beautiful light awaits us there
I remember days long past
Of sunshine and calm
Depths still clear
At forty feet
The rod held
Expectantly
In your son’s hands
Paddle in yours
The strokes
A gentle
Powerful
Grace
You didn’t care for fishing
But I did
So out we went
My youth
A stream of summer memories
New England lakes
Bass and wallabies
A pickerel here and there
The perch and sunnies
Disdainfully thrown back
Paddling today
On a perfect day
I reflect on those times
And the times that would follow
Times of storms and dark clouds
Murky shallows
When we were not always
So gentle with each other
Awkward
Sometimes graceless
The depth of you
Forever unreachable
But still I knew you
As the father who’d take me out
For no more than the pleasure
Of my pleasure
That is
I knew
Always
That you loved me
You’ve been gone now
For longer than I ever had you
For your eulogy
I used the metaphor
Of the missing wingman
A natural for the pilot father
But on this day
Of sunshine and calm
Of depth and clarity
I notice a second paddle
Laying against the empty seat
Wishing your hands were upon it
So that once again
We could take on this task of living
With the harmony of paddling
Together
Sometimes I squint
To smudge the world
Within my mind
Then paint upon
The softened scene
A different
Kind of magic
And the colours
Oh the colours
Ever vibrant
Even this brown earth
They painted
With expansiveness
Let the grandiose
Dominate the brush
Then I
So happy
For just a hint of them
Through the glass
Held in my hand
Splish splash
Boat at anchor
On the sea
Roly poly
Float the logs
Storms set free