Evening light
Shining 'cross the lake
From behind me
Through still still air
Over still still water

You have so many
Great qualities
And so many friends
That adore you as you fade
Through amber and crimson hues

We don't wave goodbye
You just slip away
Gently and softly
As Nightshades take hold of the air
We'll see you tomorrow... same time.

I missed my dad
So I bought his brand
Of pipe tobacco
Eventually,
I also bought a pipe

I light up that pipe
And smell the memory
Of my father
Floating around my head
In whispy trails of years ago.

Cradle the smell
Of french fries and quarters
Clinking their way
To the belly of Donkey Kong

The bowling ball
Slides and pins they hit
Coughing as they
Fall in the smoke-filled room

Dipping in ketchup
We salute the fallen red-ringed pins
As high scores fall and initials go up
Below the row of quarters for those to go next.

Scars of stitches
Map the years
And my moments of bad
Decisions

A fall here
An accident there
Times when the hurry just
Wasn’t worth it

Two or three stitches
Never more than five
The cuts were
always small

But I hated blood
And needles more
So they were never
Fun.

Like water
off a duck's back

water ran
                 right off
                                that
                                      duck's
                                        back

I have a place
In my memory
That’s more than
Just a place

It’s a taste
A smell
A color
A feeling
A sound
And more

It’s hard to explain
But every now and then
My mind goes there
And I’m at that place

It’s only there for a moment
Not long enough to pinpoint exactly
What or where or why or when
This place is to me

But it’s definitely something
I’ve always known
Since I was a child
Probably love or family or home.