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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

This Task Should Get Easier (Video Included)

Every year
the task should
get easier –
one less
Father’s Day card
to buy.

Years ago,
I stopped torturing
myself by reading
all the cards
I’d never get
to send.

Time has softened
the sting
of his departure,
leaving a hollow,
dull thud.

These days,
I play his part,
on this darkened stage
after midnight,
when everyone
is sleeping,
and I check all
of the doors
and the windows,
just like he did,

and I talk to him,
still trying
to earn his favor,
still trying
to make him laugh.

Every year
the task
should
get easier,

but it doesn’t.

Pop Moskowitz, offering marriage advice, February 1994. Yes, he was that adorable.

5 comments:

  1. Oh Mosk, your poem really hits home, for me, as I, too, so do miss my own dad. Wish, I had answer for that missing part of your heart that leave, with his departure, from this plane. This November will mark the 18th anniversary of his merciful release from his constant struggle with severe angina, for my dad.

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  2. Aw, man. I haven't yet traveled that road, as my parents are still with me, but I can imagine the task not getting any easier and how much I would miss them--and acutely so during these holidays. What a lovely video, made me smile.

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  3. I feel this way over losing my mother. If they were terrific parents, I don't think we ever really stop missing them. This is a lovely tribute to your dad. If you're as lovely as he sounds, your kids are lucky. A very touching read.

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  4. You managed to capture my feelings exactly. Love it!

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