The Shadow of my Childhood
Redwoods and Grief
The Shadow of my Childhood
My father- he was a redwood.
He was closer to the sun.
Strong and tall, He towered over
my childhood— shaped me.
Showed me which way to point my leaves
and how to soak in the sun.
He was a redwood.
He even hiked among them,
In my minds-eye
I can still see him—
There in the mountains
With the Redwoods.
I would chase him
and he would pretend I was faster
and we would laugh
and I would find the sun,
Because—He was a redwood and
He was closer to the sun.
A ray of life
in a dark world
Always there—
dependable and strong.
A good man.
A good father.
He towered over my childhood
An unchanging redwood
Always there—
and I knew with a
child’s certainty that he
always would be.
But then he wasn’t.
Because things changed.
He got sick—
and then sicker,
The doctors grew more serious
My mother grew more grim
My father grew smaller.
He was still a
ray of life
But now—
he was farther from the sun.
He wasn’t so tall
in his wheelchair.
He smiled less—
I smiled less.
His silences
Stretched longer
And the sun
Got farther away
But he was still a redwood,
still strong.
And then—
The strength failed.
And there was
only silence.
Because no one could hear
The snow globe of my life
Exploding around me— the
Glass shards shattering,
Because—His death
was the death of my childhood.
My innocence
My security
My childish faith
That everything would be ok
Destroyed. And the redwood
Was gone.
He towered over my childhood.
Taught me things
that only now
I am beginning to understand.
I died
When he died,
But I also lived—
I also learned.
We don’t know how much
time we have.
I am a redwood.
and
I
am closer to the sun.
About the Creator
Katie L. Oswald (BookDragon)
I am not a book worm, I am a book dragon. I love comics, books, photography and all things creative. I have always been drawn to the stories of life and have been writing for as long as I can remember. Twitter: @BookDragonklo
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