It makes me slightly giddy to think of my dad retiring from retail at the age of 70 and starting his own lawn care business. Recently --at the age of 87-- he has talked of retiring from his mowing business too. I think his garden and his porch are calling...Or maybe it's just the ducks that stop by for bread every morning... Being a Dad involves a lot of responsibility.
My Father's business was being (a Father's Day poem)
My father sold shoes
for forty seven years
before retiring at 70
and buying an old truck
and a couple of lawnmowers
and now he mows lawns every
morning (except Sunday) and comes
home in the afternoon to hose
off the mowers before
taking a shower and settling
on his porch with a cooler
and a six pack of Miller Lite.
From his chair he can watch
the finches darting
in and out of the shade –splashes
of sunlight amongst the leaves,
upon the trellis and along
the porch rail. Sipping
cold beer, he sighs
at the world he made
for himself out of almost nothing
but gratitude and quiet
confidence. And when the warmth
of evening settles he remembers
the feel of a woman’s foot
after a day of shopping.
