traveling

I went by your grave yesterday,
Veteran's flag flapping wet in the rain;
the space in front of the headstone,
where I put you, it
seemed suddenly so small;

but then I remembered
how you had shrunk
in those last years,
and then the space there
didn't seem very small at all;

I had planted things there
before Memorial Day,
and everything looked pretty good,

except when I looked
in the car mirror,
and saw you staring back at me:
a little, sad, tired man;
and I realized
how fast I am
actually traveling.



June 22, 2009, for Daddy.

Copyright © 2009, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved.