It holds warm summer days
And chilled Autumn nights.
Excited screams and laughter aplenty
Hot chocolate before breakfast.
Sneak a cookie before supper but don't tell
Never before have two digits had a voice
They scream of long nights two little girls spent giggling
Promising to be not just cousins, but best friends forever.
In their eyes he did no wrong
Father to one
Hero to the other
It whispers his voice on lonely nights
And wisdom when overcome with fear
Brightly painted above that car
It seems forever since we watched it speed by
A lifetime ago we cheered for the man behind the wheel
How our hearts leaped when he crossed the finish line.
Sometimes mingled with these bittersweet pictures
Is the smell of grease on a cool concrete floor
The clang of tools in steady strong hands
And the deafening roar of an engine heard eons ago.
Gone forever on that haunting September day
He lives on in our hearts
In that number that once upon a time
Meant nothing at all


A tribute to my hero and in many cases my best teacher Dion Parish, the best uncle and father anyone could've had