Dad always told me to never leave a job half-finished,
To put mind, spirit, and heart in it and if it's hard, to get smart with it,
Because life is a play only half written,
Just two parts and we aren't villains.
Smart wisdom. I remember back in our kitchen,
The memories of laughs and harsh tickling,
Now I'm scared of the day that I'll start to miss him,
The moment I call and can't get him.
When I was ten, I tried to make a birdhouse to make him proud,
Nailed all the pieces but couldn't seem to shape it round,
Waste of wood, he was angry but in that tough love,
His best advice was "make sure you measure twice, and cut once".
"Trust your loved ones", and "keep a pencil tucked behind your ear",
You never know when you'll need it for your design ideas,
To make a mark from the tape measure,
To take a record of all the arguments we made better,
To write your height against the wall, right where we're charting the family,
And since my mark met his, it's not so hard understanding.