I think about you
Every morning
When amethyst skies
Feel most sullen

As sunlight creeps
Behind darkness
Faint with dawn
Newly birthed,

Hearing that laugh
In my bedroom
Where friendships past
Aren’t memories

But echoes of dreams
Sharing stories
Reliving those days
Gone for good.

My phone never rings
Getting texts
Or occasional calls
Like it used to.

Parenting now
Must take precedence
Over those left back
Staying home.

This early start
Can embellish
How different our worlds
Were becoming

During hours once shared
Never ready
While being big kids
Unprepared.

Is fatherhood worth
Giving up
Everything new
Which reminds us

How life
Still isn’t so serious
By proving now
Age always sucks?

Enjoying our youths
While they last
Means someone must stay
The bad influence.

Maturity just
Doesn’t sound pleasant-
Nothing seems fair
Getting old.

• J. Pigno