Man Hands

Burly man hands,
Crinkled and firm.
But with such softness and warmth.
Not like the new daddy,
His hands are girly and quaint.
They don't have the reassurance yours do.

His hair is soft and bouncy,
He reminds me of a Ken doll.
Leather jackets and jeans.
Silly man.

I asked you once, not to leave,
You said you wouldn't.
But you did.
I'm sure it broke your heart as it did mine,
But we were destined to live different lives.

I stayed with new daddy and you became daddy superstar 2.0
What a wonder you must have been.
Burly hands and all.
Stories, sat on knees, curled at your feet like kittens.
I hear you make good crumpets too.
What a man.
I always knew you were.

I came from a world where daddys were bad men.
Scary and rough.
Where daughters were not safe.
Where laughter was not heard.
Where futures were scarce.
You changed that.

A farm.
A cow.
A sheep.
A horse.
A donkey.
You had it all.
With the kindest eyes and the softest touch,
You calmed one and all.
Animals, and the wild creature that was me.

A gobby cockney Eliza,
Brought up north and at your door,
With questions a-plenty
"Yeah but why though? But why?"
You had answers for all my questions.

If time could reverse and we had a second chance,
I would squeeze your burly hand and not let go.
When I asked you to stay in the big posh house,
You tucked me up in a bunk bed and said goodnight,
I'd sneak out, I'd grab James by the hand,
And run, run back to the farmland,
With you and your warmth and your pure soul.
You could have changed me, made me, a better woman than I am.

What fortune, what luck,
To find you again,
To appreciate you in all your glory
And understand what you said.
To know, to love, to see all that you did,
The family you raised,
The life you lead,
If I got 5 minutes of that,
Well then I'm more fortunate than most,
Because you, dear Jed, will never be a ghost.
I held you in my heart,
For nearly 30 years,
What is 30 more?

You kind soul,
You wonderous man.
I am so lucky to have once, been your little Fran