A poem to pay tribute to my brother-in-law who helped my family when we needed it. |
35 Years Ago I'm going to tell you a true story That nary another soul knows About the heart that's buried beneath The uniform and the street clothes It's a story about a young woman Who was as scared as she could be With four very small children And a husband facing heart surgery For many months during his long illness This woman, with all the kids, did trek To her husband's place of employment To pick up his weekly pay check She felt a lot like a beggar Which was exactly their sadistic intent And each and every week that passed by She fought bravely with her discontent Now, you'd think that they would just mail it But, no way, not on your life Weekly she was made to report and recant The story of their stress and their strife Her rope had been stretched to the limit With concern for her young family Just do it and stop all this fussing, she said As she berated herself silently Then her hero appeared out of nowhere Putting her and the kids in the car His presence put an end to the bullshit The nonsense, he said, had gone too far For the many long months this all lasted He let nothing get in his way Of easing his big brother's worries And keeping them all at bay They say it's our short term memory That's always the first to leave I don't have a problem with any of that 'Cause it's the long term to which I cleave Richard, you are forever my hero And I'll never forget what you did But, I don't think I ever said 'Thank You' Now, at last, I hope I just did. Happy Birthday! |