Porferio V. E. & his long lost youth

His shadow shifted in unsteady steps
As he walked with his well worn wooden cane
I read anticipation in his eyes
I celebrated the end of longing,
Even as I saw a wobbly old man’s
Beaming toothless smile: the familiar warmth
That sustained me through my growing up years.

He was once a father looming larger
When as a little boy sickly and frail;
Found in him utter support and comfort.
He who took me out to sea and taught me
The magic of giving names to phantoms
And the bright starlights guiding our journeys,
Taught me how to welcome the end of day.

He must in life loved endless horizons;
Sailed with jubilation every ocean
That his fragile wooden boat could sail on;
Searched the bays, drunk every spirit he’d found.
In clear loud voice retold his adventures
To every ear willing to sail with him
To the long lost youth of a heady life.