Next to the old orchard with its windfall apples
beloved of woodchucks,
crumbling roadside barn
slowly collapses over long years—
wood sides soften and fold inward
My father’s walls are ramshackle now,
surrounded by windfall trip hazards—
what was once solid caves in upon itself
Once upon a time
my father lived inside a fairy tale
deep in the forest, which he knew
for certain held talking animals and danger
mostly danger
Obstacles, yes—
But he believed obstacles were only
scattered there to overcome,
believed back then he would emerge
into the sunlit meadow
Victorious, there among
the singing birds and
possibly some dancing livestock
Those woods now?
Plowed for open fields
where the hardscrabble farmer
installed headlight on the tractor
so he can work early and late in the dark
The next nearest forest
is now the high school football field
where invincible young
play under the lights
While my father is deep in the dark
of his righteous proud self
deep in the forest of what was
once upon a time
Puff Of Smoke Poems 