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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Be Careful (Prompt: One Last Thing)


With my parents
it  was never goodbye,
so long,
or see you later.

The last thing my parents
always said upon parting was
be careful.

It used to bug me
until I realized that
be careful
meant

I love you
and I want you to come back safely,

The world’s a tricky place
and I want you to come back safely,

Don’t stay away so long
because I want you to come back safely.

In retrospect.
it seems superstitious,

but their superstition is hopelessly locked
in my DNA,

so even as I said goodbye to Pop
as he laid there in the casket,

I could still hear his voice
telling me to

be careful.

2 comments:

  1. Oh... ain't that the truth?! It's "...hopelessly locked in my DNA," too. :-] Love this, Mosk! :-)

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  2. I understand this. When I was married, with a child at home, I never left the house or let someone leave without a kind word or a kiss. Now, I tell my dog i love him, every day before I leave. Am I just sweet? Prolly not. But I do know how unpredictable life is, and that just because we leave in one piece, doesn't promise that we'll return that way, or at all. So I never want my last word to someone I love to be something trite or mean.

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