Did you ever, as a little girl, dance with your father? You know. He held your hands, you placed your feet on each of his, and he waltzed you around the room. Remember? As you grew, he steadied you on your new two wheeler and then, after a few years, helped you learn to drive the family car. When you married, you thought how handsome he looked as he walked you down the aisle. But life happened. And one day he was no longer young.

A Time to Remember

A Walk with Her Father

She puts her small hands
in his, unsure. She wobbles,
her steps atop his.
Gently, he steadies and guides.
They glide across the room,
her first dance.

She slips her arm in his.
From behind a white veil
she smiles at him.
They walk together
down a carpeted aisle,
step by step.

“Who gives this woman?”
“I do,” he answers.
He squeezes her hand,
not wanting to let go,
but steps away.
She joins her husband-to-be.

And now … 

She takes her father’s hand.
They walk beneath the maples,
their fingers entwined.
His cane taps the sidewalk,
leaves crunch underfoot.
She steadies him with each step.

                                                                                                                                    by Carol Mann 2016

“A Walk with her Father,” Watercolor by Lynn Centeno

Happy Father’s Day. Thank you for all you do!