Lifes Hardest Lesson Poem by Keith Michael

i heard him come in last night, sit down and talk to my mom. he loved to just tell us about his day, his experiences in his new profession. he was an older man retired so he took a part time job working with the public for the first time. you can tell everyday at work how frustrated he must have been because his brow was furrowed more in the last 3 months than in 50 years. but his dimples seemed to grow more too. he loved the companionship that his previous job had never offered.
but we would just sit there and barely listen, i don't know if it was the argument we had earlier that day or just the ungrateful mood i was in, that just made me close my door on him so he wouldn't tell me his stories. well....he passed that night in his sleep. the doctors say it was from wear and tear for a 65 year old man. but i know what the real reason is.
i broke his heart. all this time all he wanted was his sons company, my approval for him, to be happy for him at his new job. he handed me his heart and i handed it right back. and why did i ignore him? to go back to lying down and doing nothing, not making anything of myself..to have another cigarette.
you have no idea how hard it is to live with that, to not be able to say goodbye to him. to not see his smile open my door every morning and warm me had to go to work, so i would be alone for about a half hour. the hardest part is trying to move on, to know that i will never be half the man, the husband, and most importantly..the father to my children, he was to me. i hope when i die, they let me see him again even if its just to say i love you, and i would have done anything to relive that day just listen to what he had to say.