By David Roth
© 25th January, 2005
You gave me life and breath
And the first love of my young life,
You taught me to read
And write
And appreciate what others had written,
And get lost in their words.
You came along,
And brought me out of my shell.
I challenged you,
And you accepted,
Throwing the challenges right back in my face
With far greater force than that with which
It had been received,
And if there is a footnote
To whatever success my life may have,
Your name is found there.
You introduced me to a larger world,
With your stimulating wit
Auburn tresses
And amazing smile.
The first flush of young love
Was found on your lips and in your arms,
Never to be forgotten.
You gave me children,
The two greatest joys of my life,
And the most difficult times,
Devouring in spiteful jaws,
The intensity of my youth.
You crushed me,
Deceived me,
And beat me down.
And I can forgive it all,
For the two angels of light
You gave me.
When I never believed it.
You showed me that if I only put my mind to it
There is nothing I can’t do,
And 75,000 words later,
You were and are right.
You nurtured this young urge to write
To tell my story.
You gave me the sure belief in myself
That never existed before,
And when the story is told for the final time,
It will be said best,
That you were, and are, my friend.
You showed me a world I only dreamed about,
Of foreign lands and people,
Of the images of my childhood dreams.
And once upon a time,
You told me you were proud of me,
When no one else in my life
Had ever offered such hope.
You gave me another chance,
And loved me when loved seemed
But a distant memory,
Far too lofty a goal to be achieved,
Far too dusty a memory to be relieved.
And in my old age,
When all the songs are sung,
I think it will be your verse
That rings loudest in the dust
Of who I once was,
For you loved me.
