A Son Who Remembers It All

At sixteen, the court kept him out. He came back through our door A stranger sleeping on our couch, And me there on the floor. Years later, we walked side by side, My new place down the road. We pushed a cart along the street, He helped me with the load. And when my little boy was born, He'd stop and stay a while. He'd bring warm food in after work, Then sit and make him smile. Then he would head out to the yard And find a job to do. He'd fix the things I couldn't fix And make them work like new. I found him wandering my street, Unsure which way to go. A rake on his shoulder, he walked A road he used to know. His visits faded, then they stopped. I called him on the phone. His words were slurred, his breathing loud “Avi, leave me alone.” A father with no memory In a nursing home alone. He draws a red X on his door So he'll know which room's his own. A father with no memory Doesn't know me anymore. I still can hear the plastic crack And the pieces hit the floor. A father with no memory And a son who remembers it all.