remembrance

Your father was with us last night
As we walked around the old estate garden
Admiring the large trees growing there
Perhaps two hundred years their lifetime.

I suggested this place for our evening walk
A year to the day he died, saying
“He would have liked this place.”
And you were pleased to visit the grounds with me.

Last night I sensed your heavy heart grow lighter
Being a tree lover like your father, sharing that with him
The forester with all his knowledge passed to you
Now you teach me what he taught you.

This would make him happy.
This makes you happy.
Your sweet smile makes me happy
As I reach for the beech nuts to examine.

A doe appears as if our companion
Munching on day lilies, keeping near us
Browsing the lawn listening to our voices
As we pass through the old foundation.

Like your father who volunteered so much
You pull up a weed and think you might like
To volunteer to work here in this garden
For everyone to have and to hold and to enjoy.

We move past the ash and hickory trees
Past the chestnuts to the far corner of the garden
To the tree you have not yet recognized
From when we were here before.

A puzzle for us to solve together
I make observations on the leaf structure
And suddenly you see it is a yellowwood
And teach me something new.

The deer is still nearby eating
Something leafy growing on a tree trunk.
We wish the deer would eat the poison ivy.
We talk to it as if it is our pet.

As we walk back towards our car
The deer follows us unafraid.
I imagine reaching out to pat its flank
As if it could be the ghost of your father.