Full Circle: A Poem in Loving Memory of My Father, Robert N. Richardson

By Moira Anne Richardson

[In memory of Robert Norman Richardson

November 4, 1948 - November 23, 2007]

I am the twinkle in your eyes,

Eternal laughter sparkling,

Strong and silent,

My father.

I will think of you,

In backyard apple blossoms

And falling leaves.

With the scent of fresh cut wood,

And of cigarettes, like the ones you never quit smoking.

Even though we all knew that you should.

I will remember you,

Standing beside the ocean.

This enigma,

This mystery,

My Dad.

We collected rocks & shells,

Our memories of the sea,

Silent, together.

Quiet man what did you see,

In the swells of rising water,

In the waves that crashed on the sand?

The words left unsaid,

Will haunt me,

So much that none of us can know.

Familiar strangers,

Like two ships passing in a silent night.

But I know you were ready to go.

A journey come full circle,

You were a pilgrim,

An explorer of the unknown,

Traveled from Scotland to Plymouth,

Following a childhood dream

Of crossing the ocean

And beside you,

Your last glance at the sea,

I with you.