I wake feeling groggy, my head pounding and my mouth dry. I didn't sleep well last night.
Today is a heartbreaking anniversary. On this day, five years ago, I held my father's hand as he slipped quietly from this world. A day that shattered my fragile heart.
I wearily climb from my bed, pick up my phone and open a new email, typing in the email address [email protected].
Hello father,
Well another year has passed here on earth and yet it feels like only yesterday that I said goodbye to you.
Your grandchildren talk about you every day. Do you know how many times we've laughed at the memories of you dressed as a clown for their fourth birthday party? Or, how many times we have cried as we all remember when you surprised us with a much needed new car at Christmas?
We miss you terribly and yet as much as I dread this day every year, I love that I have this small window of time in which to talk to you - these few hours with you soothes my aching heart.
Your loving daughter.
Within seconds my email pings with a new message. A loving message from the past.
Thanks Dad, same time, same space next year. Arrivederci.
About the Creator
Colleen Millsteed
My first love is poetry — it’s like a desperate need to write, to free up space in my mind, to escape the constant noise in my head. Most of the time the poems write themselves — I’m just the conduit holding the metaphorical pen.
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