Take a Bow

Take a Bow [or: Flowers for my Father]

if I had a

petal for every

smile you put

on my face,

each outburst

of giggles you caused

to spring from my

heart, I’d be living

in a field of flowers

and isn’t it lucky

we all live there,

in a field where

each petal is a fiber

of being,

strong

humorous

and full of joy

it’s colorful there,

when we walk in

the field, like snowy

Christmas Days the

colors of each flower

shine brighter through the

falling icy prisms

our field is a stage

to take

as we dance through

life, and isn’t it

funny to think you

taught me the first steps?

sometimes it rains

in our flower field

as we stand tall and

water falls from someone’s

cloudy eyes

but tears evaporate when

you bring out the sun

push away the

clouds, and make happy

music play through

a whistle, CD,

or song

the wind dances

through the field,

both of you pushing

me to do my best

even when I claim

kicking a soccer ball

through the flowers would

only kill them

again

you convince me to

try and score

I’m always amazed

at the lessons flowers

teach me

to keep growing

and becoming stronger

and facing towards

the sunny side of life

I’ll always thank you

for raising me in a

flower field

where I know each

petal was given with love

and laughter

and I can do the math

to figure the field goes on

for infinity plus one

I know it will always be

 a field for us to

dance in

and this time the

flowers are for you

so, Daddy, take a bow