Two Dads -- 2nd Half

Here's the deal, folks... This is, as indicated, the 2nd HALF of this fairly lengthy poem. Due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations, this piece had to be posted in 2 parts. The 1st HALF can be accessed, of course, by going to - "Poems by Mark Stellinga" - on the soup. Sorry for the inconvenience... Thanks for listening (or reading), Mark... “It's plain to see why Dan believes that Tom's not his,” Kyle said, “and why you've never managed to convince him otherwise. In virtually every picture you can see the - “Thomas smile”, and there's no doubt at all, Marlene...he's definitely got my eyes. Then Mother said, “As you can see...Tommy...just like you were - back when we were seventeen - is tall and really thin... While Danny, on the other hand, who's only five foot six...comes from a line of fairly stout and even shorter men, “Soooo, he could get a good idea of what he'll prob'ly look like - despite the rather gangly way he's looking as a youth - By meeting you in person...with him - knowing you're his father..but I'm not all that certain that he's ready for the truth. “We'll leave it up to him,” Kyle said, “it's quite a big decision, but if he'd like to meet with me...and it's OK with Dan... All you need to do is call.” “I'll ask him,” Marlene countered, “I'm sure he'll go along with it...Dan's not a selfish man. “I need you to know, when Angie died,” she added...squeezing his hand...“learning - from the paper - you'd no children of your own... I often thought of calling you. I know how much you loved her...and the painful war that a widower fights is tough to win alone. “I'm really glad you called me...it was nice to hear your voice...and though my life with Dan's been very nice...I love you still.” “And I love you,” he whimpered, as he hugged her one last time. “I never stopped adoring you, Marlene......and never will!” And while it seemed I couldn't have sat and watched them all that long...and - close enough to where they sat to hear them reminisce... I'll bet we'd had our drinks refilled at least a dozen times before their -- “not so secret meeting” – ended with a kiss! Mom ducked out ahead of him, pausing in the doorway to offer him a final smile, then Kyle got up to go. I sat there...stunned...bewildered, contemplating my options - confess to having learned the truth...or - never let her know. Because of what I'd overheard my mother saying to Kyle, I realized my father'd never believed I was his child, But raising me...and loving me - as though I were - has proven to be, without a doubt, the choice with which he'd reconciled. He could have set aside more time for he and I to share, but thinking back, there'd always been less - didn't-dos - than dids, For which I'm truly grateful, as I quickly came to learn that I was merely one more child in a slew of - “Two-Dads” kids. When queried by my mother how I'd feel about a woman who'd keep her child from knowing who its DNA-father is... And selfishly deceive the man she'd claimed to be its father...and never tell the true dad that the child was actually his... I told her, “Mom, without a doubt, there must have been good reason. Having a child's the most important choice a woman makes, And the odds for working out increase if the child believes it's loved...truly loved...regardless of whichever man she takes. “Matter of fact...if I found out that Dad was not my father...not my - biological one - it'd be a big surprise... But I believe that knowing the truth - even when it hurts - is always far less painful than the aches of - living lies! “I was in the booth right next to yours at Jaspers Bar last night when you and Mr Thomas met and talked about - old times, And after what I saw - and heard - I've come to this conclusion: though rendezvous like this are flaws in judgment...they're not crimes, “And I'd be glad to meet him, Mom...given Dad's OK with that...but I've no doubt that Kyle will understand whose side you're on, And, once I've made him understand how much I love you both...any tension caused by what we're trying - will be gone!” I'm glad to say he struck me as - an easy guy to like - and Mother's great affection for him helped to make me sure That he'd have made a great dad, too...and I was thrilled to know...that - both the one who'd raised me -- and -- created me -- loved her!