Walk With Me And Meet My Children

Taken swiftly, our first chess piece on life’s board of broken dreams
No prodigy, no wonder, but the boy I call my brother nonetheless
While oft times life ebbs slowly
You were wrested from our family, cruelly
Suddenly, just twelve years of age
And I lay the blame squarely
On the shoe below my knee
My shattered knee
My final year of high school
Your first, our first with matching tie and pleated trews
Your toothy grin eyes a wonder
As I turn the key and move on through the gears
While others slowly fade away
You were taken in that instant
Now that instant haunts my each and every day
Though spared I wasn’t able
To say farewell all dressed in black and at your side
With bones and spirit broken
Life it seemed so cruel and wholly fathomless
Mirror, signal, then manoeuvre — that was the drill
The other driver he’d been drinking and chewing pills
That lapse in thinking means I’ll always be enslaved
Still I lay the blame, squarely
On the shoe below my knee
My shattered knee
Well the years the creep by
And I have shared a little joy with those around me
And these new young lives my daughter grows
May yet set me free
I’m sorry I know Jo
All I really want is one day more
Touch your shoulder, squeeze your hand Jo
For you to walk with me and meet my children