A family man, running spandexed and puffing reaches into the stroller at the crest of the hill as the day sighs away the last of its dusk hands a three year old a flashlight and makes her a secret-wink promise. You'll move so quickly on your path, it's your duty to carry a light with you to keep you and others safe.
A stern man and a hot scratchy washcloth removing a Spice Girls bubblegum tattoo from the nose of a seven year old, molecule by molecule. As soon as you get caught up in superficiality, that's when you'll make mistakes. Don't make mistakes that will last.
A medic man returns from a surgery from a rural village with more kindness than money. Lays a basket of apples and a banana loaf on the table in lieu of a cheque and says: There will be opportunities in your life for your actions to define the kind of person you are- always take them-
and never forget your common humanity.
An animal man bursts into the room with a puppy as new as a sparrow gamboling, loving, seeking faces and laps. When choosing your first dog, look for one that has more loyalty than shrewdness. Choose your friends that way, too.
A tired man breathes deeply instead of shouting at the quivering teen and the confession of the bumper and the scratch that shouldn't have happened. Hurt softly with the truth.... but never with lies.
A romantic man recounts his history raising his eyebrows at the score of his frolics and makes me swear to fall madly in like with every soul who my heart should kiss- but Love, reserve Love as the most sacred of words, deeds, beings. When you Love, you and he shall become one another, and be one life.
A sentimental man wears a silver crown at the head of his dinner table meditating in silence after the laughs and mayhem of his family clan have subsided to the fireplace.
He looks at his daughter. She looks at her father.
The fullness of her adult face and Polish eyes reflect in his irises blue inside blue inside blue inside blue- making any separation between them redundant, intangible, like- mirrors facing mirrors- as the roots of the Tree run as deep as soul itself and he murmurs:
*The day you hear the cry of your firstborn child is the day you discover the meaning of your life-