It has been quite awhile since last I saw your smile,

I remember you back there on a cool, Fall day, you could not stay.

Seven years old this boy, a dad not so old, you should have stayed home,

I say hello in a most different way, not the way it was when I sat on your lap,

Not the same as when we went to the park, watched television before bed.

My thoughts are of a yesterday before you could no longer say hello,

A vegetable garden recalled, model airplanes together, medals I held.

A flag that has disappeared, material belongings lost with the years,

What I have left are some pictures, your words written, and memories,

So, I thought I would take a moment to say hello! dad, you are not forgotten.

Keith Garrett