A Trilogy

A Trilogy For My Dad

I've been thinking of my Dad a lot these days as I head into my second new year without him....I wrote quite a few poems over the years about him...I thought I'd choose a trilogy to share that I feel best captured my feelings about our amazing journey together through this thing we call life. Sometimes when we were alone together during his final months in his room I would read them to him aloud....he seemed to like the words and he always encouraged me to keep working on my writing. The final poem I included was written sitting vigil by his side near the end of his journey as the two of us got to spend one last night together in the same room..... He never got to hear me read that one.....but wherever he is I find comfort in knowing that he can hear it now......
My Dad was for me a larger than life figure throughout our 54 years together. And though our personalities were vastly different we both were granted the time and grace to come to know and respect each other as only Father's and Son's can. I came to respect him even more deeply for the way he bravely waged war with such a difficult disease....It deepened his faith but it also revealed a capacity to love and accept people for who they were that I hope I can learn to develop in my own life....he was a really good man and he made people feel that they mattered to him because they did!!!
I got to know many Parkinson's patients in my Dad's final year and saw the way the disease could literally crush a person's spirit as it robbed their physical abilities....not him!!! As each sliver of his physical ability would disappear under the strain of the disease, he would find joy in the smallest of graces and somehow always find a way to brighten the room with his warm smile. When all the activities that were left for him were in his dreams he continued to dream well!!! 
These three poems are my tribute to the man who taught me so many lessons that I could never repay the debt, and it was his shining life example that was the key ingredient for my words.
As my Dad's journey ended those that were there with him said a small smile appeared on his face.... I would like to believe he smiled because he was stepping into the warm embrace of the light that was waiting for him as he left this world........and joined those he loved on the other side....Safe journeys Pops!!!

The Masters Box

Just a box of wood and inlay
Made real by father’s touch
Passed down one generation
By a man that cared so much

Each line would tell his story
Its handmade craft made real
Tight grain and hand filed metal
Would yield to craftsmen’s feel

Along this straight and narrow
Where skills slow built cross time
As training yields to masters hands
Fine skills pass down through line

I learned beside this giant man
Who taught me life needs care
And passed to me his gentle gift
From a lifetime built then shared

PT Muldoon
© 2016, PT Muldoon

The Lion Sleeps

I knew him as a lion
A hero to a child
His roar a force of nature
He taught us right from wild

His voice is getting softer now
His eyes like shattered glass
I treasure every moment
And pray they’re not the last

I yearn for days now long since gone
And know they’ve left for good
And treasure with him memories
As we talk of all we should

His lived life as my hero
His character was strong
A life lived by conviction
He taught us right from wrong

His life not without errors
On that we both agree
Like all of us he knows regrets
But seeks to set them free

And as I watch the lion sleep
I see the man within
Disease might claim his dignity
But deep down its still him

We sit and pray together now
For better times ahead
He guides me with his wisdom
His kids in charge instead

The roles have come full circle
And now we guide his ways
And seek to show him honor
And fight for treasured days

And sometimes in the quiet
I watch the lion sleep
And marvel at his dignity
As constant vigil keep

I know the day is coming soon
The lions roar will cease
And he will live in memory
Where journey ends in peace

But as for now we’ll cherish
All the moments still with him
And listen to him eagerly
As the lions roar grows dim

And if there is a lesson here
In all that aging keeps
Just one last teaching moment
Taught as the lion sleeps

PT Muldoon
© 2016, PT Muldoon

This Side Of The Gates

A moment caught in silence
As seams of life tear free
Revealing hidden places
That only our eyes see

I will not dread your leaving
You always gave your best
A last hill steeped in struggle
Life's journey's now finds rest

For I will soldier on alone
As load gets passed my way
To carry you within my heart
Remains from bygone day

My tears will dry to memory
Sweet life we'll bid adieu
To honor all accomplishments
Your journey's nearly through

Just a moment caught forever
And held deep in my heart
I thank you for your guidance
And treasure your sweet part

And as your life is winding down
This great new journey waits
The angels gave me glimpses
From this side of the gates

PT Muldoon
© 2016, PT Muldoon