Beaten by what we know but don’t see 
swirls of air 
somehow over years of standing 
still 
gave you that rubbery face 

Rich red, cracking  
chunks breaking, running 
up and down
wrapping what’s hidden 
inside your cloak 

A wink. You’ve watched me
follow these tracks before
my young face, swift gait, 
fast pace
driven 

So was he. My mothers dad, tall 
with a downward gaze
skin like rubber that told
stories of good and bad  
of things never spoken now seen 

He once had a chest 
experience harder fought than mine 
his badge, that with age, withdrew 
replaced by kindness to a world 
he’d forced his way through 

You remind me of him,
perhaps hidden inside of you 
he is there, watching me 
as I pass on by 
and the sun drifts across the sky