i never got
to be a father
on father’s day
while my father
was still alive

leaves a
hole
that threatens
to swallow me
whole

but i see him
in the kids
and that fills
the pit
with grains of
bittersweet joy
even if i
am the only one
who sees how
he lives on

my orphan heart
pinned carelessly
to my sleeve
leaking the love
left unspoken to
stain the sunrise
in shades of
sanguine sorrows