I walked the paths of my father again.
His memory tests my endurance
More than the rocks beneath my feet.
Tears are shed through beads of sweat,
As my fingers grip the edges of the mountain.
The warm embrace of the sun
As it shines through the branches,
Illuminates the waters;
Small inviting lakes waiting
For someone to come and play.
These winding walkways
Are the links to my past and to my future...
The mountain before me;
All knowing and harboring the secrets
Of all that came before.
New memories are born
From these sacred fertile lands
Daddy loved so much;
Like gifts from an endless story book
Written anew at bedtime…
Pages of many lifetimes
Traced in the dust…
The soldier fresh from war
Home in time to hold his son,
And help his beloved wife
Fight her own battle…
A mission of love that is fated to succeed.
The ageless man, gray with time
Who inspired the young with his resolve
And who taught himself
To put landscape to canvas
At the tender age of 80.
The little girl with the fiery tongue
Fearless, even in the face of snakes.
Who could make the hardened veteran laugh
And teach cocky young men
What little girls can do.
The parents of a deaf child
Who gave her the precious
Gift of sound.
At 3 she says “baba”
And makes her daddy shine with pride.
The blind boy,
Barely a decade old,
With merely a whisper to show him direction
Jumping from a cliff
In the ultimate leap of faith.
And the Commandant,
Who gave the daughter of a dear friend
The chance to embrace it all...
I used to believe that success
Was nothing more than the measurement
Of wealth and possessions.
I used to think that accomplishment
Only happened at the edge of death,
When we realize we haven’t done as much
As we thought we should have…
Inspiration comes in the chirp of a bird,
The ramblings of old men,
And in the laughter of children.
I believe I have more to learn
From the people my father loved…
Success is how you spend your life,
Accomplishment is the quality in which you live
And the memories we share with each other
Are the trails of immortality
In the storybook of mankind.
….And they all lived happily ever after
