How many years now I count on two hands

We climbed aboard this timeless carousel

Your eyes so full of fright and life

I could hold you then with one hand

And you knew all safe and sound

Those painted ponies gliding fast

All a blur and pastel in my mind’s eye

But my gentle princess was loved

This king bleeds now from his side

Longing for life to take its course

One more glimpse of you, my dear

Do you remember this gray-haired man?

Once a hero in your tiny hand

I mean you no trouble and doubt

How truly better I could have made

Your life and all that you are today

Too short our years here to spend

In struggle and strife waging war

Against vows our mouths’ spoke

Say yea, so we build our home or

Say nay, and I will wait again for

One more pass to come ’round in time

Can you love me now? Could you understand?

What a burden to bear all alone, and

How I’ve held your memories so frail

Within the fabric of fatherhood

Breaking the course of a generation

Is not an easy task and I fast

That these demons would leave us be

* * *

Copyright 2005
A poem concerning current broken relationships.

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The last place I took Madison, my 1-year-old daughter, was the carousel in The Woodlands Mall. This poem was written in memory of that day, using the concept of a carousel as a metaphor, hoping and dreaming to one day see her again.