Today was the family picnic at school
jumping castles
cotton candy
too many desserts

I was there to open doors
flip burgers
smile

People asked
how the school year is going
how the new staff are settling
how great the new soccer pitch looks
how bout the weather

But before they came
I read my sister's email
saw my mother's hurried note
heart surgery at 83
and thought of my father riding the ambulance
down I-95 to Portland,Maine
and my mother beside him

and then went out and
opened doors
flipped burgers
smiled

Waited through to the very end
Chatted as they
added up the sales figures
looking for the total gained

I came back to trace lovingly
the filaments of story
these tales we spin and share
lines cast out to make us fast
these lines of love and light
holding us one to the other
in this rushing torrent we call life

I am the last to leave
the school is quiet now
silent as only a school can be

Not alone though
full of memories
and held
by a thousand unseen hands

Through tears I whisper thanks