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Writer's pictureAllan Shedlin

Dads of A Certain Age: A Poetic Day in the Life

Guest Poetry by J. Boyce Gleason

Award-winning Author

PHOTO CREDIT: J. Boyce Gleason, 2022

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following poem was originally published to J. Boyce Gleason's Facebook page on August 19, 2022. We're happy to welcome J. back to the Daddying blog and to add his "fitting" poetry to the blog's growing archive of daddying verse with his permission...and a knowing nod.


Daddy on!



Lifeguards


Coffee in hand, I ease into the day,

Stealing some peace at the beach

With its endless horizon and its

Slow curling waves


The sun is up, but just

Its rays slanting off the surf below

With a thousand and one lights

Twinkling like Christmas


The lifeguards are training. Their youth

And strength belie the ageless sea

As they attack the water and

Race across the sand.


In their way, they are as beautiful,

Their confidence and grace as

Endless as the horizon

Their bodies sleek as the curling waves


They’ve yet to know the lessons they’ll learn

About how fragile their life can be

And how quickly their strength will fade

But, today they waltz upon the beach like gods


I wait until their dance is done and

Try to capture the peace I seek,

But the waves now roar and rattle my bones

Oh, to be so young, again!


– J. Boyce Gleason


 

J. Boyce Gleason is a dad to three sons, three daughters-in-law, and five granddaughters. He is an author of award-winning historical novels for mature audiences, including Anvil of God and Wheel of the Fates, Books I & II of The Carolingian Chronicles. Before turning his talents to writing, Gleason worked as a press secretary on Capitol Hill for two U.S. Representatives and served in the private sector as a public affairs and crisis management consultant. Gleason's work on some of the most visible corporate crises in recent U.S. history earned him national recognition and made him a featured speaker and advisor to corporate, academic, civil rights, and nonprofit institutions. He earned an AB in history from Dartmouth College and brings a strong understanding of the events that shaped history to his writing. He and his wife, Mary Margaret, live in Virginia.


You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @jboycegleason.




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