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The Old Man Could See
By Cat Ferman

 
UCLA, 1969 
My dad's late for class again.
He spots a girl from Sweden
And asks her out again. 
My mom says so unsure, but calmly and kind,
"I suppose that would be alright, 
I guess that'll be just fine." 
And from that moment on
They stayed together
In the warm weather
Making each day more alive.
My dad, Mr. Ferman, a Jewish local man, refused to leave her side, 
And although a good man
Was not a Lutheran
Interested as he was in reading the new testament
Which he did.
-------------------------------------
Winter break arrived, and my mom missed home.
Not sure she would come back in the spring
She gave her mom and dad a ring
To tell them about the man who made her heart sing
My dad's parents gave her a ride to the airport that morning.

With no delay about it,
My dad prayed about it
Then he knew what to do.
At the very last minute
Searching the kitchenette and everything in it
To keep the girl he loved more than anything
He grabbed his passport on the way out the door
And he had no luggage or money, as he was poor.

When she checked in, my dad and his parents sat in the car, briefly,
Before my dad would ultimately go in to make peace with goodbye.
But first
One last try:
He asked his parents again,
"Mom, could I please have some-?"
"No."
"But why?"
They had no good answer for him.
Because though she was loyal
Her blood to them wasn't royal
No matter how noble she was.

An old Jewish man in the airport
Sitting next to them
The old man could see.
Reflecting back on moments in his memory
He saw love in my dad's eyes he recognized in himself
For the wife he had who was in poor health
From old age
Who didn't have much longer to live
As both were getting older
And the seasons were getting colder.
He decided right then - my dad needed a friend
So the old man who could see 
Told my dad, plainly,
"Well, I was going to sell this ticket, you see 
To that man over there with all that money,
Surely, that would be the best for me,
But,
I'm going to give it to you for free."

50 years later
They're still together
Seven kids and ten grandchildren later
The stern clarinet player (and a generous doctor)
And the angelic, maternal and artistic oil painter.
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