Father

You taught me what it means to be a man

You are the metric against which I measure myself

You were the guiding star in my skyline

You were the mountain by which I could always dead reckon myself

Now you’re gone and I feel lost

You were and are my Everest the height to which I tried, and try to climb

If I turn out to be half the man, you were I’ll be well pleased

I am my father’s son

And I wouldn’t change that for anything

You left a legacy behind that sometimes feels staggering in its weight

But I wouldn’t change that even if I could

It’s my goal to turn out like you

To be the man you were at the end

After you put in the work to become better than you already were

So, I’ll put in the work, and work on myself too

Because stagnation is death there’s always something you can improve

Something new to learn

You taught me that too

Even when I feel like I’m not living up to you

Your friends and mine remind me

That you would be proud of me

And that, that’s enough somedays

But I miss your smile

I miss your enveloping hugs

The quiet strength you exuded

The way you cheerfully served everyone around you

I miss you every day.