A son, a student, and a soldier. A lover, and for a few brief months, a father. Time took the soldier, cancer took his lover and his son. Now he waits.
—
I have worn many hats in my time.
Starting at my birth when I became a son.
Born to a wonderful mother and friend
and a worthless, unemployed father.
The times were hard but I had to soldier
on and start school as a student.
As I grew older I became a student
of life. I learned how to let my time
pass. Going through the motions like the soldier
ant. Dad thought I was a disappointing son,
and I thought him to be a despicable father.
Dreams of another life became my only friend.
It became apparent I wouldn’t need a friend.
The military would make me their student.
They taught me to be a man, something my father
could never do. In just a year’s time
I became everybody’s favorite son.
The Marine. The Devil Dog. The soldier.
However, with age and injury being a soldier
forever isn’t feasible. The only friend
left was love. My lover grew our son
in her womb. And I became a student
of parenthood. In a short time
I would be something I never had: a father.
But in the end nothing can stop Father
Time, even as the cancer would soldier
through her pregnant body. So little time
was left now. Then my true friend
returned; loneliness. Only a student
of death now. I will never meet my son.
Back here I again become my mother’s son.
Buried are the dreams I use to father
of a home. I seek to become a student
in life once more. No longer a soldier
of fortune. I am bidding my time.
Waiting to find my next true friend.
I am a soldier once again, fighting a war with time.
I am also a student, learning with my friends
And I am a father, one without a son.
—
Photo: Pixabay