Forty-three is mainly now a father,
Offering himself to others' needs.
Remember that such love can give no quarter,
Taking one where obligation leads,
Yielding up a joy that breaks and bleeds.
To love is to become oneself another,
Heeding new hopes as the old recede,
Repurposing one's self to serve some other,
Embracing what one's former self concedes,
Ever mounted on quixotic steeds.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.