his legacy
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after his lung was removed
his breath was short just walking
up stairs or from his parked
car to the grocery store door
he never complained only
appreciated each day beyond
the one before he was breathing
in often he'd say "i love you all
all you kids i love you all"
he'd say that a lot i remember
until that winter night waiting in line
outside the local funeral home
for one last sub-zero goodbye
to his good friend who'd gone to
wherever life here goes afterwards
yes dad got pneumonia and
in two days his breath squeezed
shut at the local hospital emergency
room where he left us to go to
wherever life here goes afterwards
later that day we found his legacy
in words he wrote on the outside of
a sealed envelope he'd placed on his
kitchen table: "Notes to my kids, in
case I die suddenly. I love you all. Dad"
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Poem by Janet Cannon
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