My Santiago

The greeting is customary, First, the dog pushing open the heavy front door With his snout, Then the kneel down, hug and conversation, The changed voice We all reserve for our Staffie boy, The roll over, wrestle in the lounge; Then us, Hugs, Love and gratitude for what we have, What we are, What we understand about this time, This space, This race against the clock.

But for now, Making time standstill, Making love hold the will of us three; Knowing there is no other, No better, No past, No future,

Just the here, Just the now.

And this is more than enough!

And the circle has come around.

Downing tools to remember the fallen, Some on the field of battle, Some later in life, (the battle of life). My father, His battles in war and wars in peacetime, The ending, A changed man, But remembered for the first man, The real man he was.

And I did shed a tear on that day, A father gone but always loved in my own complex way, A son who loved the grandfather, His pop, His life tattooed on his upper arm, In memoriam, My wife’s special friendship with Fred, All linked to him