My Father Past-away Three Years Ago Today

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Funny it doesn't seem like it has been that long and yet it seems like it has been forever. When he died, we knew it was his time and that it was what he wanted. You see mom had passed six months before and he was lost without her. They had been married for 56 years. I missed them both terribly, but know they are together and no longer ill or hurting. The memories they left me and my siblings are a legacy that we all cherish. This is a poem I have written as a tribute to the memory of my Dad. Fishing at Picnic Creek Thongs flap-clap, flap-clap against the soles of her feet. She follows his path through brush and river grass down to Picnic Creek. Water swallows her feet, her ankles, licks gently at her calves. For a moment, she stands on the edge of sun and shadow and shifts the weight of entrusted creel. Rooster tails, wedding rings and woolly worms flash in the noon from their fleecy nest. Goose bumps play chase along bare, brown arms, she watches his arm arc, hears click-zing-click as tethered lure races to obey silent directions. The silver super-duper winks, disappears into dappled depths with a hushed plop. The soft tick, tick, tick of the reel vibrates on the breeze as she stoops, lets frayed edges of denim wick water. Small hands dive like Dippers searching through rocks slick with green water moss for tiny blue-black and amber periwinkle homes. Each find carefully pocketed. A two-penny promise between Father and daughter.