October 23rd

“I remember the days of old,
    I think about all your deeds,
    I meditate on the works of your hands.” Psalm 143:5

i sort through those
old pictures, of you watching
me pedal away, as you hold
life’s training wheels you just removed.
i gaze up at the sky
and notice the same stars
you painted on my ceiling
that summer, before heading
downstairs to put the patches
on the jeans i ripped playing
all day long with friends.
i thumb through the diary
i kept in those years when
i pushed every envelope and
tested every boundary you had.
i remember
your persistent patience,
your limitless love,
your full-blown forgiveness
and know, as if it were yesterday,
that you are always with me.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman