Skip to main content

Jimmy

he was just a simple Hoosier
growing up amid the cornfields
where everything made sense
he loved the family cats and dogs
in one picture he's looking down
at his sweet dog
while the others, unsmiling
face the camera
he would play ball all day sometimes
Uncle Boob gave him his first fishing pole
he'd sometimes leave a line floating
while he went to church
later he would discover golf
read the whole Bible
he didn't miss the snow when
they came to Florida
his life was simple
a room full of books
job on the golf course
people lived and died there
for the love of their game
two weeks vacation
every year
when he'd do another
golf and fish adventure
then I came along
never the woman he deserved
watched his mom
wished I could be like her
beauty and kindness personified
she did her duty to God
her mind was to leave us
before her body
as it would be
with her son
never perfect
but so full of love
never to die
in the middle of
his golfing peak
he noticed something
drifting away
easy to shrug off
for so long
until the reality came
crashing down
I wouldn't accept it
he needed to do things for me
he couldn't do this to me
he needed to protect me
until these words
rang false
ridiculous
selfish
it was up to me
I went searching
for truth
security
family
from one coast
to the other
only to come full circle
and realize what
I had to do
let go
just be
just work
just love
just struggle
be joyful
cry like hell
hug my boys to me
who taught me
what love is
what family is
Jimmy
I still see
even as my tears fall
that superstar Little Leaguer
that guy who sunk
holes-in-one like it was no thing
the guy who goofed on
his honkey-tonk friends
the guy who always
guided my two left feet
through the line dances
the guy who refused to
let me give up
while others just saw
some redneck
who wasn't good enough
they weren't worth your toenail
that looks like a dragon's talon
I haven't forgotten
I hope one day
to be worthy of you...
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September 17, 1987

Today was the celebration of the signing of the Constitution for the People!  It was a rainy but happy day.  At Independence Hall more than 10,000 people were gathered to watch the parade with people dressed up as colonial soldiers, some riding on Tyler Quarter horses.  And there were lots of colonial floats, and Ronald Reagan came out in front of Independence Hall and made a long speech, as usual.  After the day's festivities at Independence Hall were over, everybody went to the Civic Center.
Post a Comment
Read more

Goals: Why Even Bother?

Sometimes the question is not "Why do I want to accomplish this goal"?  Sometimes it's more like "Why shouldn't I just do whatever I feel like doing? Why do I want to bother myself with goals when I could just be relaxing instead?" You might then ask yourself, if I forget the goal what do I miss out on?  Am I ok with that?  Will I have regrets one day?  Which will cause me more stress - abandoning the goal or following through on it? What will my life look like next week, next month, next year if I do/don't accomplish the goal?  Sometimes when it's the desire for accomplishment that falters, it's the fear of loss that keeps you going. 
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ogre

By Joseph Jacobs John Dickson Batten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Shelley and I were friends almost immediately.  However her father did not like me.  The only reason I can imagine is that my family was too poor for him and that he did not consider me fit to be around his daughter.  Despite how her father felt about me, the moments when he was away at work as a lawyer, and when Shelley and I were together were the thrill of my life.  We did everything for fun, it seemed like there was nothing we couldn't do, no fun that we couldn't have.    Her house was an entire wonderland within itself.  An enormous granite-walled mansion, there were four floors of enchanting adventure for us.  The first floor held a kitchen where we made all kinds of goodies, an adjacent playroom where we played house, Barbie, watched "It's A Living," "Silver Spoons," "Small Wonder," "Dukes of Hazzard," "Laverne & Shirley," two mag...
Post a Comment
Read more