Lifes Work

Wash me delicately Or I may shrink If I am truly your favorite Most prized A symbol of your unique character Read my labels Do not treat me as if indestructible Notice if one of my seams is coming undone I am your humble servant And will do my duty as long as I am cared for I have protected you I have brought you pride Pay attention, treat me well And I will be there when you need me

He was someone special to me To everyone he met, he was unique So kind, so insanely smart, so completely out there My dad drank himself to death Just like that, died in his bed Phone cord rapped around his leg in a last effort to call for help I wonder if he would have called me, so he could hear me say ‘I love you’ one last time I did love him as most sons love their dad But mine was the self defeating underdog He made me, he made me think, even when he didn’t know it I thought about things he would say He was the outcast of the family I was always the one to talk to him I was in fourth grade after the cops came and my mom decided we’d stay some place else for a while I was sent in to the house, I never feared him There he was, looking out the kitchen window There was a strange air in the house I walked up behind him and told him what the plan was We talked a little while and then I left He is part of me and I treasure that part As if it were gold incased in crystal He was beautiful in the way a classic hard bound book has beauty I’ll never know him the way I’d like But it’s my fault, he was always there I justify it with pain… The pain of seeing A man like him letting himself go the way he did Here’s to you George! I love you, and you’ll always be with me…