For my Dad

Down Comes the Rain

Sometime, a long time ago,

My father’s heart broke,

And I did not notice.

Hand in mine as child, woman and child again,

His life, for me, was wrapped in my ideals, frustrations<

And self misinformation.

I caught him only in glimpses

Quickly hidden away

By a turned head,

A switched channel,

A change of topic,

A heavy silence.

Grown not tall but older,

I give my heart away to dreams

And hold my mind close

Like a promise I can not give

As he watches, waiting for

The smile from me that says

I know what he gave for me to grow this way.

As the rain broke today,

As clouds thundered overhead, I knew

At last what I had missed deliberately.

I missed him all these years

And in doing so

Made a big man small,

A teller of tales mute

And built a wall of glass

It will hurt us both to break.

A little girl in braids stands rock in hand

Ready to throw a curve ball

For the man that pushed her swing

And sang her nightmares away.

Sometime, a long time ago,

My father’s heart broke,

And I did not notice.