Remembering My Dad on Father’s Day, 2019

 

Remembering My Dad on Father’s Day, 2019

 

by his second daughter, Alice Jane-Marie Massa

 

 

For more than two decades,

I have marked Father’s Day without you

at our table, at my side.

Leaving flowers at your graveside,

warmly thinking of you–

what more can I do

to honor your greatness

on this Father’s Day, 2019?

 

Not just this special day,

but all days,

I remember you with lyrics of love.

I know you were the great “good luck” of my world.

You gave me the positive notes of my repertoire,

the best days, and the most cherished of memories.

 

On a gravestone in Roselawn are

a hummingbird and an iris,

your name–James F. Massa–

but your love and kindness

still grace and emanate from those

whose lives you touched:

we learn, lead, and love

by following your example.

If we shine,

we are once again and always

in the glow of your smile.

 

In Heaven,

do you have a room with a view?

Are you watching us–

watching over us?

Have you seen my precious Willow?

Have you smiled upon

your five great-grandchildren?

Have you kept the rain away

from our picnics, parades, and parties?

Have you rained

upon our gardens of life?

Have you been in the wind

that caresses us?

Do you sometimes coo

soothing words of wisdom to us

through the mourning dove?

 

For all that you did for us

while you walked this Earth,

I marvel at all

that you still must do

because I know you are with us,

with me,

each day;

and each day and night,

each Father’s Day,

my heart

and all hearts you have touched

are beating

with soft, unending notes

of everlasting gratitude

for you

who sat so importantly and serenely

on the front porch swing of our blessed lives.

 

 

Whether you are remembering your dad or celebrating with him today,

God bless all on this Father’s Day,

Alice and Leader Dog Willow

 

June 16, 2019, Sunday

 

 

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