The Circle

As a child for long whiles I watched mother and tried to mutter, Learning her nurturing ways, seeing other kids with fathers. As a kid I watched those same kids play, waited to be asked one day. In my teens, fast cars dates at the movies, I thrived on my dreams, Of Vietnam battles, playing on the Dodger’s baseball teams, But I watch some friends march away, saw some in stripes behind a gate. Hooray graduation day, fathers and mothers, kids looking to their future, All I could wish for was a warm place to stay, Wondering what comes after today under newspaper covers. Weddings were wonderful I loved each wife in different ways, But after that day never did either one of us ever promise forever. Now I wheeze through painful winters, the chills of the cold sends pain through my soul, I watch grandchildren play, hoping for their happy lives and that I never pass away. But now I draw family members close to me for wisdom I hope they remember, Then ask for a blanket for the cold shoulders of the old.