Captain

Calloused hands that grip mine,

walking me across the street safely

keeping me out of harms way.

They’d fought in battles

and brought men to safety

and still cradled me when I was new.

Memories of you are beginning to blur

as time goes by

and increases the distance between us.

The years you were here,

embedded in my psyche

that I cling to like a security blanket.

The way you’d come home

In uniform

the scent of the ships you spend days on

caked on like the oil on your fingertips.

You’d watch the evening news

and I’d use you as a human jungle gym

knowing you’d catch me every time I fell.

Every night it feels like the stars fall,

because you’re not here to name them with me anymore.