The Greyhound to Somewhere

“Can I do this again; one more greyhound to nowhere?  Why now when I was so close?  Does anyone even hear me anymore?  I can’t remember where I’m headed; if it even matters.  Just a gray dingy bench for a bed; I’m so tired…”

“Come here, let’s sit awhile.  Put your head in Mom’s lap, isn’t that better?”

“I remember when all it took was a bandage and a hug but it’s not so simple anymore is it?  Was it something I said that makes you believe every mountain requires a pennant carved with pieces of your heart; where the view stopped being enough?”

“I’d forgotten what it felt like to step back and simply feel, just to feel.  I had so many agendas didn’t I?  I thought I knew exactly what success was; I’d enjoyed so much of it but you were what I was most proud of, my greatest success by far."

“Did I ever tell you that?  I wonder if that’s why you run so hard and fast.  You were the sage you know, the one looking out while I was so busy looking in.  One more hurdle, one more peak, and surely the measure of me would be written in all the summits I’d conquered.  But they weren’t of course.”

“No, the measure of me is written in you, my greatest gift by far.  You with your poet’s soul; did you know angels weep?  It’s not from the letters following your name, though you’ve worked so hard to place them there.  No, theirs is the breeze on your cheek; your hand as it glides across a string and against all odds, decides to live and love again.  You will you know.”

“Oh, there it is!  I love rainbows.  Did you know you were the one who taught me how to think in color?  You with all those amazing hues just bursting with life; you didn’t mean to shine, you just did.  You took all my grays and turned them orange and yellow, reds and blues; you painted this rainbow for me and didn’t even know it. “

“Let’s take our shoes off and just run!  I like doing that now.  It makes me feel silly.  Do you remember silly?  That time we laughed so hard we cried; the tears were just streaming down our faces?  We couldn’t even remember what started it, but it didn’t matter.  You’d just glance at me with that goofy grin and I was gone, taking you with me. “

“I can’t take you with me now but I’m near by.  I’m those goose bumps that run down your arms when I hold you.  I will always hold you, you know - because you hold me.  When you wake up, you’re going to feel better; you won’t know why but it doesn’t matter.  Accept the gifts we can’t always see.  Paint the world with your heart Son, it matters.  Wear your colors proudly and run - just to be silly.”

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