It was Christmas 1973,
as I straightened up his brace
A disabled body with unconquered mind,
best friends in different states
As she walked straight down the cellar steps,
my future in her glance
Dressed pure white, she’d come from work,
her clothes did then enhance
The beauty in her heart and beyond,
with one look did reveal
As she walked half down the thirteen steps,
sitting sideways to conceal
All lovely strewn and golden haired,
with eyes both blue and sharp
Her face a lovely countenance,
my light now through the dark
She looked at me dismissively,
and feigned a smile weak
As if to say without the words ...
you fall short of what I seek
She’d heard the rumors in disbelief,
and got up to turn and leave
I followed to where her mother stood,
and with her help did I then plead
I said that night to myself alone,
that if one thing I shall do
I will marry this girl with the golden hair,
as God has made so few
A lifetime now passed, then half again,
she still looks at me that way
Not hiding the love she feels inside,
until my dying day
No words then gleaned or ever built,
for feelings such as these
My pen now empty and eyes stare blank,
at what my heart can only see
To love her once was not enough,
yet no more was I allowed
My chest so small for that so big,
her golden hair my cloud
If I was blessed with just one wish,
and knew it to come true
Just one more day with golden hair,
—whose love so fine and new
(Villanova Pennsylvania: Written February 17, 1978)
To My Great Grandchildren
To my Grandchildren, those great and beyond,
whom I will never meet
Know that I love you and have seen you in the
eyes of your parents when they were very small
I’ve heard your voices in the trees, when the
wind blows softly calling my name as I walk
I’ve seen your arms reaching out to me in my
dreams, as you cry “Papa\" and then drift away
Your spirit is mine, as my spirit is yours; and no
lifetime can keep us apart
I watch over you now and will watch over you then,
whenever the need is great
I’m that voice you hear when no one else listens,
and no one else understands
And the heart that feels what you will feel, when
no one else seems to care
(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2017)