Legacies

Like a snow-covered road
Winding upward through
Lesson-markers of
Redwood and pine,
A father’s time on this side
Remains an odyssey,
Reverently preserved.

Rock and rut obstacles
Remain for tomorrows yet dawned,
Destiny's beneath-the-surface hindrance
Reminding one that stumbles upon stumbles
Remain a given until watchfulness is learned.

Such roads become trail-heads,
Traversing inevitable paths narrowing,
Climbing with tenuous energy
As air becomes thin.

Still…

Above the clouds beckons.

Such quiet guidance leaves behind,
Footprints of wisdom,
Sometimes frozen
Sometimes floating atop meandering creeks,
All for progenies to discern in their own season.

Father’s know guidance never wains,
For offspring holding firm the fixed ropes,
The security for venturing life’s tenuous routes,
Will feel confident confronting unexpected challenges.

Self-realization has no deadline

Even fathers know there’s more
Uncharted discoveries yet to come.