Ode To My Father (The Endless Gift) Poem by Matt Baines

Looking out at empty skies
Not believing its been ten years
Since you died

Each day of loneliness eats my soul
Time's not been kind to ease my poor mind
Nothing to show but my face with your goal

Keeping everything uptight inside
No one around to ask for help
Pretending you're fine but you just lied

Thinking I knew how to be a man
What else was there to do?
But it's hard without a helping hand

But when I look in my eyes, what is it I see?
A glimpse of something familiar
What a surprise, it's more than just me!

Memories are nice but not the best gem
We put them away in a box
A box where we compress them

Even better I find a gift
One that's always been there
And smiling my mind is no longer adrift.

It's taken all these years
For me to climb out
Of too many beers, tears, and fears

No longer do I sit asking what might have been
No medicine can heal the scars
But the future is here in my own skin

No matter how much I miss your kiss
It's you I have to thank
For a new dawn in a life of timeless bliss.