AND I CRIED

There's been people and things that I have loved through the years,

But nothing last forever and lost love only brings tears.

I've thought of the things that have happened and the things that have passed by.

I looked out into nothing searching for everything, I hung my head, and I cried.

When I was a child, there was a dog that I loved, that really meant no harm.

But he killed a stray dog and they told me they were sending him to a farm.

I loved this dog and didn’t want to let him go because I knew they had lied.

Even at nine, I knew he was going to the pound to die, and I cried.

There are places I've been in this world throughout,

All across the north, all across the south.

Some I got to by car, some by ship, and some I had to fly.

I've thought about places I've been that I will never see again, and I cried.

When my kids were born, each was their own delight.

Each one, on their day, was the most important day of my life.

When I held them in my arms for the first time and they looked up at me and sighed.

My heart was so full of happiness that I couldn't stand it, and I cried.

I had a marriage where nothing went right.

All we ever did was argue and fight.

After we split, what hurt the most, I just can't deny,

She took my kids and left the state, and I cried.

I had a job that defined who I was.

I know that sounds crazy but that's what a man does.

One day I had to make a stand, I had to defy.

Things didn't go my way, I lost my job, and I cried.

We went through a lot, my mother and I, in the years of my life.

It seemed like we were always stumbling through the dark, searching for the light.

When my mother died, I couldn't help but wonder why,

 I stood there lost and watched her go in the ground, and I cried.

Everywhere I've gone, there were people that I met.

There are people that are in my mind that I will never forget.

I've thought about seeing them again but know that I can't no matter how hard I try.

I've thought about how it would be to see these old friends, and I cried.

STANLEY HENDRIX

 01/17/09

My book of poems "DEEP DARK SECRETS" is available online at AMAZON.COM, KINDLE, and CREATESPACE.COM