i used to wonder why it was so hard
for my father to put on his shoes

now i know
years of shouldering all of this

shoestring hope
on sinew synovial oil and episodic sleep

until the joints split like a
confession

now i am that same man grunting as i
tie my laces

but i don’t want to carry this weight in
bitterness

but in a blur of ecstasy and
bloodsmoke

until the pain becomes bliss
until what aches sings

with a clarion
nerve

Scott Ferry helps our Veterans heal as a RN in the Seattle area. His seventh book of poetry, The Long Blade of Days Ahead, is forthcoming from Impspired Press in August 2022.