A tribute to my dad.

Forty years and thousands of miles ago,
the man he once was,
poses amidst his brothers.

Faces stretched in laughter,
men improbably young,
greating destiny in the light of day.

Shoulders clasped in strong hands,
with glasses lifted in innocent defiance,
thirsting to drink of life.

The young lions stalked the future,
questing for the next great feast.
Harvesting pleasure from the world
and owing nothing.

Callow and adolescent,
the best and youngest days
vanished with time.
Unwillingly, the memories faded.

Yet in the hearts
of worn and tattered men
and frozen frames of days gone by,
glory still resides.

The old man smiles
and returns the stolen moment to its place,
within the album that seldom sees the light.