Poem for Dad

Three years ago,

On Mother's day, my Father's Spirit learned to fly.

In the form of a seagull, he stumbled off a cliff.

Just like the Parkinson's had stricken him.

Plunging down to the rocky sea floor, I caught my breath to see if he knew.

A swell of light crystals rushed out on the tide,

His wings beating once, and then stronger, twice more,

He swooped up the face of a cresting wave,

And then soared free .. to God knows where,

I was happy to see him flying away.

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Not long after

I felt him pacing me wing for wing,

As I speeded my bike along the cliffs.

Looking over to say, with his sly seagull eye,

"Cmon! You can do better. I'll race you to the end!"

So I took him on .. and I've been chasing him since then.

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I love you , Dad.

But I've got to let go.

You have to understand .. it's okay when I'm coasting.

That I still have a long way to go on this road,

And I weigh so much more than your soul.

I'll catch you at the edge, when I get there, my friend.

I'm not in a hurry

To reach the horizon.

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Today

I found my Father's Spirit

In a porpoise swimming by.

Taking his sweet time,

Carving long, lazy lines, down the slow coast of life ~