Beyond the Snows of Winter
BEYOND THE SNOWS OF WINTER
You go on ahead, my son,
I’ll catch up with you when the snow reaches the end of winter
You have your life to live and worlds to explore
Where you are headed I won’t be going
Maybe I will be there in spirit ensconced in your memory
But I will always have the memories we built
The many baseball games you played and starred
Do you recall, I was there for all of them?
There were many pitching practices behind our house
And at Moore Field chasing fly balls I hit to you
I’ll never forget the day we went to Dodger Stadium and saw
Fernando pitch that perfect no-hitter, remember?
I’ll never forget you practicing the piano
And how good you were becoming
The teacher said that with practice
You could become a really good pianist
Those days are in our past
But our story goes way back
The playful reality we enjoyed became a nightmare
And those wonderful memories lie in the dustbin of my memory
Our relationship devolved through the years
You're more distant now; a father-son past put away
Never to return, never to be mentioned
Life is not fair they say and it’s true
I only remember the good times of those days
Our many laughs and slurpees after games
And how you developed into a fine young man
To become a well respected professional attorney
I wish you continued success, my boy
That’s what you have always been to me, my precious child
My pride and joy; you remain so to this day
as you always will
My days have come and gone and I will leave you shortly
To reach that plateau of respite I direly need
To dwell beyond the snows of winter in my long sleep
Dreaming of what it was and what could have been
I sense Time anxiously counting the minutes, egging me on
The Specter with the scythe beckons with its bony digit
Vigilantly, patiently waiting for my spirit to let go
To join the ethereal collective
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