With each chat
Each new secret
I plant seeds
Of possibility that
I water with
Affection and interest
Compassion and kindness
Watching my field
Of acquaintances grow
Into a forest
Of friends amongst
Which I hide
When the world
Eventually frightens me
Because it does
And they do
They always do
I have discovered
That in life
We attract what
We are it’s
Called human harmony
If one is
Mean one attracts
Meanness if one
Is kind kind
Comes forth human
Harmony therefore is
Completely up to
You and rests
On your shoulders
He’s gone now
To wander the
Mysteries of the
Universe and to
Perhaps reappear one
Day to each
Of you a
Songbird in a
Far off tree
Singing a song
Only you will
Hear and remember
Rest well Dad
Until the next
You are here
And just then
After the digging
And pailing and
Sculpting and dreaming
And building and
Coveting an unforeseen
Storm rolls in
And as much
You protect and
Scoop and try
To keep what
Was yours you
Suddenly realize that
It never was
That you were
Just borrowing it
For a time
Sitting here today
I’m present to
Lost and found
Something lost can
Be found again
But by then
It’s too late
Either you’ve discovered
A replacement or
You’ve learned to
Do without it
Keep important things
Close to you
Because once they’re
Gone they are
Gone for good
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 