Happy Memories

Do I really need a picture
When my memory’s so clear
Of all the happy times I spent
With ones I hold so dear

A picture cannot answer
When mom hollers, “Suppers on”
It can’t smell like the cutting
Of an early summer lawn

A picture doesn’t justify
The work my parents did
From dawn to dusk they toiled
Trying to raise their lively kids

A photograph can’t capture
The essence of a life
The trials and tribulations
Of a husband and a wife

The memories most treasured
Are the ones in which we share
By passing down the stories
To the ones for whom we care

If a memory can be triggered
By a picture in a frame
Why can it not be triggered
By the flicker of a flame?

So when I light my candle
I’ll remember you this way
Visiting and laughing
Making memories today

Happy 80th Birthday Dad!