Image from: http://blog.zelladesign.com/tag/survival/
Sitting sentry in the hallway
Rough with wear and dirt
Symbol of her father’s strength
But sometimes
They frightened her
Dark and waiting
Full of his essence
Resting by the door.
In his dark times
There were no smiles
Or stories
No great booming voice.
He would sit alone
In the dark and quiet.
Then she would tip-toe
Quickly past
Not wanting to wake
The darkness
That seemed to linger
In her daddy’s boots
My grandfather died well after I was an adult. My memories of him are of warm, rough hugs against wool work shirts, the scent of hand rolled cigarettes, strong fingers grasping ours, or our shoulders, always working with his hands on wooden bowls, or stone jewelry. He was a warm, loving man and just thinking of him fills my heart. But like many of us he had dark times. When my mother was a small child she remembers running past her father’s boots sitting by his chair. She was afraid of them, but only when they were off and waiting. On him, they were just a part of Daddy.
Autumn Journal 