NaPoWriMo 4/26/09

Bike Ride

an April Alabama afternoon
one that will fade in your memory
blend in with so many others
but a special day for me

pale blue sky overhead
like an inverted china bowl
the gray macadam of
the deserted elementary school
parking lot
spread out before us

to the left a baseball field
a father and sun at batting practice
sweating and laughing in
the afternoon’s heat

to the right Woodland Drive
cars occasionally humming by
quiet for a while
one or two
then spurts
then quiet again
no apparent pattern

I set up a camp chair
under the covered walkway
the red brick of the school
behind me
a cool breeze blowing
keeping me comfy
in the shade

you ride your bike
finally

the flatness of the empty lot
calls to you in a way
our slanted street
never has

this is your first extended ride
and you go to the far end of the
L-shaped lot
never even looking back
free and happy on your bike

you wobble on a turn
and my stomach drops
i know if you go over
there is no way for me
to catch you

it will take too long
to reach you
to hold you
to comfort you

but you recover
look back at me
and wave
overjoyed
at riding that bike

and I know
although I do not want to know
although it hurts to know

this is how it will always be
you going off on your adventures
testing the boundaries
of freedom
taking chances
I cannot save you from

and I am hit
emotionally
viciously
with a truth
a truth that
I had known
intellectually
for some time

letting you grow
letting you go
is now
and will always be
the hardest part
of fatherhood

©2009-Art Belliveau