I was lucky enough to watch my daughter play in the water with her sons today, (my grandsons for clarity) and I smiled. It was a quiet smile, one that only YOU know is happening. We all do it, and it’s shame that we hide it.
The emotion was two fold; realizing you have children old enough to have children and secondly, you are old enough to have grandchildren.
I watched the boys swim, float, splash, laugh, do flips and dive for imaginary treasures, and I came to the realization that even though a person’s body may wrinkle, wear out, tire and eventually “give out”, the person we see when we look in the mirror is the same little kid that does back flips off the diving board, without and ounce of fear.
Later in the day I heard John Denver sing about “country roads taking him home to a place where he belonged” and the combination of boys splashing in the water and hearing old Johnny cause me to write a poem, I write quite a few poems, which I rarely share. I mostly like to keep them between me and God.
So, this is my Father’s day Gift to all the dads out there that will wake up and hit the day running every single day and work hard to make their children better than they are. I also realized today with more clarity, that I am succeeding at that.
Happy Fathers day fellas, keep hittin homers!
The Boy in the Mirror
The person you see… is just a reflection.
A set of memories and thoughts… buried for protection
The person you see, is really not me
He is the older version of just what you see
You’ll never know what’s inside this epidermic shell
All his turmoil and thoughts, the fears he cannot tell
He sees a reflection of a boy, without a care
A boy with a bat and ball,
Looking for a dare
A boy with laughter, with jokes and cheer
A boy who loves to play…without worries or fear.
He sees the smile…and he knows he’s in there
He’s hiding behind the wrinkles, and all the gray hair
It Is a boy with a ball, he will toss in the air
A boy with a smile without any burdens to bear.
He can run forever, without breaking his stride
He’s made no mistakes, he has nothing to hide.
The road ahead seems endless in time,
Not a mountain made, he cannot climb
Undeterred by the day - only running out of light
Hitting the last imaginary homer, by a street light so bright.
He stands there now- withered and worn
The life of a man who’s heart has been torn
Hit the day running and make good of your way
The rat race of life is no place to play
Looking in the mirror of life, he tries to impress
He sees the road behind him, his failures and success
All the people around him, his family and friends
Burning some bridges, and then making amends
He wrestles with himself, at every possible turn,
His boyish energy fading, with so little left to burn
He sighs at the reflection and remembers so free
For he knows that the boy in the mirror
Is really the man that you see.