Present, but not there | Teen Ink

Present, but not there

November 21, 2016
By kartikibhatnagar BRONZE, New Delhi , Kentucky
kartikibhatnagar BRONZE, New Delhi , Kentucky
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

They said that day
The Moon is 30% larger than normal
A phenomena which will only come once a century
and I
was hopeful.
Hopeful that it may lead to something more beautiful
than my usual morose days.

You see, I missed him.
My Father, or so they say.
Those men also called him Sergeant, with an air of respect
I did not understand;
He wasn't present when the world heard me first cry.
He wasn't present when my brother taught me how to cycle.
He wasn't present when I had my first breakup with my best friend,
or my lover.
he wasn't present when I threw my graduation cap in the air.
But they said he was my Father, and I called him that without believing

However, Hope is strong, so strong
and that day was indeed special
because my father was present
as he looked up at the big moon that day from the border side
I saw the reflection of his eyes
and for a moment, our eyes interlocked
and that night
I realized why they called him my Father:
our eyes had the same color.


The author's comments:

This is a philosophical piece I wrote dedicated to my mother and her father, who was in the army.  I have always heard poems and writings from the perspectives of soldiers but never the people who are close to them and love them.  Hence, I wrote this.


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