Dad

where is that impish grin
when the big light goes off at night
how does the light slip in
for the curious and the frightful
it goes to me your daughter
who could only guess
that your laughter was
my chance to address every
in-between that you taught me
the dark and unknowing
exploded like chestnuts
at holiday’s undoing
when we wished for everything
and got only time
to discover again snug under a cap

an eye full of questions
a small boy’s chin
caught forever for me
in an old photograph

your thwarted intention
that impish grin
the big light’s turned on
you are in my heart now

that murmur, that missed beat
that impish grin