I remember my father's lips, still ripe from spitting the word cancer
His inner conflict finally released
How to tell his only daughter
Of the possibility she could lose her father
I do not know if I cried
I cannot remember
I remember the first time he told me
More so than I remember the second
His uncertainty was what terrified me most
But he told me that regardless of the situation
Everything will work out
How it is meant to work out
I nodded because I knew it would

I remember my father’s sunken eyes
This was the only time I had seen him at a point so low
Loss has a way of pulling people down
I couldn’t help but wonder if he cried
When he found my uncle's lifeless body
On the floor of his city apartment
I wonder if he sat there for a few minutes
Mourning the death of someone who never truly knew how to live
My uncle was bipolar
And everyday
Was a battle he fought with himself
A never-ending rollercoaster
Of highs and lows
Ups and downs
My father said
Maybe now he was at peace
I nodded because I knew he was

My father’s countenance
Says more than his words ever do
His expressions speak louder than language
I understand the writing on his face
I understand it all
Maybe it’s because ours are so similar in structure
Our almond eyes symmetrical
His smile, my smile
Mirror images
I know his attributes
More so than I know myself
I know him
More so than I know myself
He says we are one in the same
I nod because I know we are.