At 8th avenue and 34th street I saw him at his best
Cars at a crawl he sidesteps between them
He takes on the danger with an ease
his hurry so fluid, so natural
A DiMaggio chasing down a ball
out of reach to others – not him
My father is a night clerk at general post office Manhattan
On this night I see him at the corner Nathan’s around midnight
This the start of his work and he looks up and sees me
What the hell are you doing here?
I say no more than Hi
To see Dad is a surprise for both of us
I’m a teacher at Dawnwood Jr HS – 60 miles east
with a class the next morning at 8 a.m.
What the hell was I doing there?
I don’t tell Dad that I’m in love
So in love I picked up Rose after her class downtown
I’m driving her to her family’s Bronx apartment
I need her kisses and hugs in the middle of the week
I’ll remember them when I try to teach class
I say I’m picking up a friend and taking her home
Dad with a nod an ok then off to work he goes
Strange what the world throws at us
As Dad hurries off I think of what he offers
Life is what we came here to do
and I see how good he is at it