You came into this world,

full of hope and fragile beauty

and not breathing; panic in my heart,

alarm that something

was most terribly wrong

as the nurse ran out of the room

carrying a small delicate, my flimsy, boy

and I watched helpless as technical

help arrived and slowly, surely,

you gasped for air and you weren’t

as breakable I had imagined

for the longest minute of my life.

 

You decided to not breath again

when eating tea one night, in a rush,

a dash of small pieces of meat, chips

and peas swimming around inside your mouth

and I instinctively reached in and pulled

the errant meat from the back

of your throat and held it between my fingers

as you breathed once more; looking up

at me with love in your blue eyes

and my heart pounding like a nuclear bomb

let go from a plane skimming the atmosphere

of the Earth.

 

You came along at the right time my boy,

cheeky smile and a future in my life

till the day I stop breathing,

worn out from worrying about you

but glad in the heart that I was able to,

sweet prince, lead a life of good,

be the best man you can be,

be the man I cannot be,

for everyday

you take my breath away.

 

Ian D. Hall 2016