Father And Son Poem by Daniel Brick

for Ryan

There was a time when you
were younger by far than you
can remember, a time when I
was always in front of you,
because EXPERIENCE, in its
total disregard for our human
frailty, came careening down
the hills and rushing up
the valleys of Time and WHAM!
hit us with all the force
of its necessity. Mostly,
the shock went over your head
because you were still small
in stature, giving Experience
little to strike. And I took
the brunt of it, in my face,
in my face, in my whole being,
because that is what fathers do.
Then the broken pieces of
Experience floated around us,
harmless, their velocity spent.
They were like bubbles and you
jumped up and walloped them
with all your strength...

It's different now, isn't it?
You stand at full stature,
facing everything Experience
has to offer. You are confident
of your strength. When Experience
strikes you with a full body blow,
you stand your ground, and watch
the broken pieces floating past you.
And you smile as you see those
defeated pieces coalesce
into the Time of Your Life.