I love you, too

Glass eye

One leg

False teeth

Hearing aids

Hot tamale candies on the wall by your chair

representing your love of sugar

as well as the spice and fire

you carried inside

To sustain you

And come to think of it

the scent

you wore, too

Old

Spice

You always seemed old to me

your life was hard

no nonsense

like the dusty flatlands of your youth and adulthood

Vivid memories of your hands

they were the strongest part of your body

and you would squeeze my hands to show your love

At your kitchen table

you ministered to white people, Black people, women, men,

teenagers, some believed in God,

most were lost to themselves

The door was always open.

Honk if you know Bill W. was your favorite bumper sticker.

the pride I would feel after you were gone

knowing how many lives you saved in saving your own.

When she told you she was gay

You said

So.

You didn’t say much. But when you did, it mattered.

One time I came into your kitchen to get a snack.

The image I’ll never forget

your hands were in the air swaying back and forth

Eyes lightly closed

A glow radiating in the room and around you.

The tape player cranked up just enough

He walks with me and He talks with Me and He tells me

I

Am

His

own

I thought then and I think now:

This is peace.

I love you, too, PaPa.