Papa

I went to visit my nana and papa yesterday,

I hugged her sleeping form and left the room.

I hugged his stressed-filled bones and he whispered,

"I love you"

He never said that to me before.

Not even as a child,

The words never escaped his lips for me.

Then I realized he wasn't saying it out loud to let me know.

He was saying his goodbye.

On my way out I caught a glimpse of her bedroom.

He climbed into her bed and held her.

That's when I realized how tired he truly was.

You lose a daughter at fifty,

You trudge on because you have to.

You find out you'll be losing your wife at eighty,

How are you supposed to move past that?

He can't because he's tired and there's only so many years

Before your body shuts down from lost loves.

Before you lose everything that gave your life meaning to keep going.

I went to visit my nana and papa yesterday,

He told me he loved me for the first and last time.