My Father, You Are in Heaven?

My father, you are in heaven.

Grasp it I pray, this weary hand

Whose knuckles black by shadows and

Are cracked and cry 'cause icy wind.

Father, oh my father!

Release me from this prison sorrow,

This long-done soul who seeks tomorrow,

The freeing crack of his crab shell hollow.

Father, oh my father!

I grip steel bars in zealous passion

And clang my cup at your wingéd freedom.

They say your flaps are silent phantoms, 

But hoist me now and be you visible!

Father, oh my father, 

Heed me from this cell!

It's cave-length-deep

And shines light cheap,

I beg, at least,

You come to visit.

Descend upon my mind at rest 

Take not these sobs as grand offense

For the day awake I cannot bear

These bloody knuckles, cold, and stale

Father, oh my father,

You are in Heaven?

I pray you then, beseech me!

This abysmal grip is choking

And shallow be my prayers.

Father, oh my father!

Forgive me…my apologies!

My sense had then escaped me;

No soul, once spoiled, escapes free

From far beneath the soil.

Reviews

[Mary Jain]

Good one and it will really make anyone feel who lost parents.

[M. J. Smith]

Such despair here. And a confusion... Do we read of a departed earthly father, or the heavenly Father?
Certainly a contemplation of death. Stark, breathtaking, emotional. Well written, my friend.

[NFA]

Glad it struck you so. Take it as a reflection of my innermost conflicts.