The Good Man

Kora

He wakes early, by habit,
Stretching his tired bones.
He lingers a moment,
Watching his wife and daughter
Their chests rising and falling,
Sleeping so soundly,
Their eyelids fluttering
With beautiful dreams.
Today he deploys
For the second time,
Not knowing if he will return.
He thinks back a few hours—
Frank Sinatra spinning
On the turntable in the corner,
His daughter snuggled
Safe in his arms
As he shuffles and rocks,
Over and over.

He thinks back
To his own childhood.
The father he feared,
The nights he lay awake
Comforting his young brother,
Praying their mother
Would please return,
If only to read them
A bedtime story.
He is exhausted.
He questions his choices,
Wondering what they will mean
For the little family
He loves so much.
Every passing minute
Is a crippling self-doubt.

Dawn arrives too suddenly.
He sits at the kitchen table,
Awaiting the truck
That will carry him away again.
He is not a perfect man,
But he loves them.
Years from now,
His daughter will sit
With a pen in her hand,
Writing the story
She hopes will tell him
That this was always enough.

Comments +

Comments3

  • sorenbarrett

    Nature is perfect and we part of it are as well. Perfect in our imperfection. A perfect poem of an imperfect man that is good enough to be remembered and loved and love itself is perfect in its imperfections. Joy and pain, union and separation, life and death, present and past dualities all perfect. Well written and a fave

    • Kora

      Thank you Soren ❤️

      • sorenbarrett

        My pleasure

      • Paul Bell

        Epic poem. A man bringing his own family up to a different life he was brought up to.
        Maybe his final epitaph was the love he bestowed on his own daughter which she remembers and now pens.

        • Kora

          Thank you for the kind words. I certainly believe so ❤️

        • Doggerel Dave

          I don’t want to treat this lightly Kora; your story really touched me. The account has much depth as it portrays one (in this case) man’s ability to transcend his upbringing. In addition, the very positive conclusion left me warm and satisfied.
          Thanks for all that.

          • Kora

            Thank you Dave ❤️
            It really means a lot



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