Fly back, to that comforting place
You bought your wings with your last day
Where nothing hurts and no one waits
As your body, alone will stay.

Beyond the flame and beyond the heat
Past the whispers and the troubled sleep
There is no dream left to complete
So this life you cannot keep.

The boyish smile, the sea-blue eyes
The simplicity that was your soul
The many graces you've left behind
None of these shall ever grow old.

You are my guiding spirit now
Free at last, and homeward bound.

I love you, papa.

So I just lost my dad. He lived a long and amazing life, and we lost him yesterday just after midnight. He was a gentle soul. He taught me so much about respect, and honesty, and doing the right thing. He loved a good Western, his dog Sophie, Fettuccine Alfredo, and frequent trips to the candy store. He will be missed, very much. This one is hard for me to talk about, so I wrote a sonnet instead.

UPDATE: here's another great photo I found of him, probably in his early 40s or late 30s.

‍