Glenda Barrett

FAMILY TIES

At times
he was silent,
stared into space,
and retreated to a place
no one else could go.
I watched and wondered
what he was thinking,
how he was feeling
with an incurable disease.
A reserved man,
one day he opened up
when a visiting neighbor
asked, "How are you Willis?"
Before my father could explain
the man said, "You know,
I have the same thing".
Later, my father chuckled,
knowing it wasn't true.
Time has passed
and so has my father.
Today, my doctor echoes
words like heredity and genetics
before giving me the diagnosis.
At times, I am silent,
stare into space,
and retreat to a place
where no one else can go,
a place where I no longer
wonder what my father thought.

A native of North Georgia, Glenda Barrett is a published writer, poet and artist. Her work has appeared in Woman's World, Farm & Ranch Living, Rural Heritage, Smoky Mountain Living, Nostalgia, Bereavement, Georgia Magazine, Kaleidoscope, Mindprints and other magazines and journals.