The Man
Born
just down from Missouri
to nomads of the southland
who chased the autumn moon
Up
from the Mississippi delta
to Dustbowl, Oklahoma
he became a man too soon
A hard life
shaping the man
who wouldn’t stay down
when he’d fall
to fight on through failure and pain
this wounded heart
lived through it all
A shell hard as a stone
yet soft to the core
He closed the window of hope
while opening the door
Chased the dreams others would call
castles in the sky
But if God would have given him wings,
he would have learned to fly
Love
found him torn and bleeding
from choices hard and bitter
frostbitten and cold
Hope
of growing old together
take the bittersweet adventure
where love had taken hold
The shadows
fought through the night
with death at the door
love won the day
As the sun set into the west
God measured the man
and found grace to pay
(c)2001 Jonathan Varnell
Tags: dad, honor, lyric, ode to father, Song
