News of my father's imminent death--

Today they told you that there was nothing left for you except to die--
And dear father, did you ever think for a moment about Dylan Thomas?
Or is your mind filled with Blakean visions?

What will we do without you?
Man who took off his wooden shoes and never looked behind him
But always gloriously ahead—
What do you envision for yourself?
Are you at peace with everything that you said and did?

“Whenever any Individual Rejects Error and Embraces Truth, a Last Judgment passes upon that Individual’

Hard-working father--
Do you know how your children worship you?
Do you witness how our own ambivalence is melting away…
In the face of your own stoicism—

Dear Father teach us courage and teach us love
Teach our mother how not to miss you in her bed

Teach us how to move furniture from one house to the next
Without you and your car to pile things on top of the hood.

Teach us how to cultivate inner peace
And how to make amends

“Mutual Forgiveness of each Vice,
Such are the Gates of Paradise.”

Please teach us more than this
There are still lessons in you for us to learn

Without you
We can only imagine the answers you might give
Without you Life might seem a little less plentiful
So, dear father, if it please you…

“Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”