Time carries me relentlessly
I caught some droplets off its vast stream
Held them in my agings hands
and made ink.

I refuse to let it go. 
We shall remember. 

1. Bonding

Your mother can see into mysteries invisible to me
I nod when her prophecies come true
Wondering about my blindness

I might have worried when she said
You and I were not bonding
But I knew things were fine
(fathers have their own powers, you see)

We did bond.
We became quite the pair, you and I
Countless steps back and forth
Holding you close to my chest

2. Right leg up

I hope to one day visit your home
To sit down and have a cup of coffee
I don’t know what we’ll talk about
(I suspect it won’t be trucks anymore)
But I’m confident your right leg will be up
Just like you always liked it

3. Mexerico

You’ve been fond of touching
Ever since you were born
Each face and toy and wall
Was something to be explored with curious fingers
Even today, three years later
You still tell me that you’re just seeing this or that
With your hands

4. Mirror

Some people tell me you look just like me
I tend to disagree, my hair and skin being darker
Except in the earliest of hours
when the world looks black and white
I look at you and see myself
A ripple from another place and time

5. Fearlessness and robots

You seem to have no fear
You’ll climb and jump and fight
sometimes too bravely for my own heart
Nothing frightens you
except for robots

Perhaps you know something we don’t.

6. Cooking and feeding

If I invite you to cook
You drop your favorite toy to join
We like the fire, the smells and tastes
And we like to share our joy

May your pantry ever be full
I’m sure your table will have many guests.

7. Dally

For years I was neither daddy nor papai
I was ‘dal-ly!’
That’s how you’d summon me
when you felt hungry, tired, proud or lonely
And even when I was tired
and everything else was quiet
I reminded myself that one day would be the last time
And I’d miss your voice

I do miss it
Never hesitate to call me
That’s what dallys are for