The ‘Missing You’ Space

You left a few months prior

To Father’s Day in 2007 

This is the sixteenth one 

Without you here 

I don’t know if I thought 

There would be a certain number 

Of days, or years, or holidays 

And suddenly it would be tolerable 

There will always be an empty space 

Time does not erase it 

Busyness does not fill it 

Acceptance does not alleviate it 

Thoughts racing through my mind 

Will always eventually find the empty place 

There are stacks of memories within 

Assorted sizes, lengths and weights 

Yet, there was room for so much more 

There were volumes still to be said 

There were holidays and birthdays 

And every other days waiting to be added 

Sometimes, especially days like today 

I will linger for hours in the missing space 

I listen to the echoes of our conversations 

I relive the laughs, the tears and the in between 

It never fills the missing space 

It doesn’t take away any of the missing 

But there is a measure of joy found 

Spending this precious time 

In my ‘missing you’ space 

I love ya, Dad 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

June 19, 2022 

Father’s Day