Shattered

Faded waves of paper,
Shattered remains,
Pieces of my soul,
In a scattered haze of torn fragments,
Laces of interwoven links,
Margins of jagged edges,
A picture that once was,
In a distant life,
A memory.

You said we would never meet again,
And yet here you are,
Lying in front of me,
One eye here and one there,
As if following me around,
Wherever I look,
Wherever I turn,
As if searching for the meaning of life,
Finding my fears,
Delving into me.

I can feel the nails digging deeper into me,
Sinking feeling that once I had,
The last telephone conversations,
The final words that you said to me,
The final whisper,
Yours lips,
Trembling in the cold,
I hung on as long as I could,
Until you were gone.

We preserve life as we live it,
Making threads into yarns as tales unfold,
Knowing that nothing lasts forever,
Neither you nor me,
And yet we leave behind,
Our legacy, our love,
Our hopes, our dreams,
As we strive to make the world,
A better place than when we came into it.

So today, as I look at your dregs,
I finally know,
That the marks on my heart,
Will never fade away,
Even though the times will fade,
And memories replaced,
You will still hold me in your arms,
And you will say again and again,
The same words I hear you say,
Loud and clear every day,

"I love you daddy."