He never liked a man to talk too much
Especially his kin
Couldn’t stand complaining
And said quitters never win
He slowed down as he got older
Mostly toward the end
And knew me my whole life
But i never knew him
I’ve seen those dog eared old polaroids
Of a smiling little kid
Bouncing on his mama’s lap
Climbing on a fence
And I can’t make the connection
Despite the clear resemblance
He lived a whole life among us
But we never knew him
Back when we were younger
my cousins and I
He was the strictest man I’d ever met
I couldn’t understand why
Stay away from the shed out back
The garage and his room
Don’t you dare touch the remote control
Don’t go near any of his tools
he was the singer in a country band
Back when he was seventeen
Fell in love and started writing songs
Till one day she heard him sing
Once on the stage he pulled a diamond out
And got down on one knee
He was fearless looking in her eyes
Holding out that ring
He never shouted never harmed a fly when he was raising his kids
He worked to give em everything they’d need
He never called out sick
They knew that he could be relied upon
When something needed fixed
They knew he’d always be there for them
But they never knew him
He used to love to hold the little ones
When they woke up in the night
Singing softly in the darkness
Till the baby stopped crying
The first time his girl called him daddy
Grandma said tears welled in his eyes
She tried to ask about it later
But he wouldn’t say why
I’ve never seen him look at peace before
So this is pretty strange
Seeing him there in a suit and tie
10am on a weekday
The doctor told us that his heart gave out
That it couldn’t bear the strain
After years of silent hardening
In his arteries and veins
I’m sure I told him that I loved him
Because my parents told me to
I couldn’t tell ya when I said that last
I don’t know if it’s even true
I don’t know how a boy as kind and free
Could turn out like he did
I don’t know why his heart was trapped like that
But I never knew him