Thank you for the ride - A balad

Thank you for the ride

on his godmother's lap

on that shiny merry-go-round

Ohio State Fair

and when he was 10

and the Bakers took him

and their son Billy

his best friend

to summer camp

in upstate New York

and thank you for the ride again

when his older brother Pete

took him on his motor bike

(age 14)

and he really had a laugh

when Peggy said it

his girl friend

after their first time

and he said it many times

on his way to California

one could still hitchhike

in 1975.

It was thank you for the ride again

when his contractor

let him ride shotgun

in that 18-wheeler

when the beams were hauled over

for their new home.

And when Annie had their first baby

he said it to his friend Jim

who picked him up at the hospital.

(He was too shaky after the long night

and had a blurred vision

with all those happy tears.)

15 years later

- it seemed a very short time to him -

he said it

to the man from the funeral parlour

and he didn't even know

that he'd said it.

A single father now

he soon said it

to his son

who had gotten his license

and wanted to show

that he could drive.

He had him

take the three of them to McDonalds.

Two years later

thank you for the ride

to his not so little daughter anymore.

When his hair turned grey

and the kids in Oberlin and Smith

he caught himself

saying it a lot more often

to nobody in particular

until one day

he had two teenage grandchildren by then

he said it one last time

barely audible.