Legacy

I remember being asked,
As all children are at that age
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
And of all the cacophony of vocations
Astronaut, Firefighter, Cowboy, Doctor
The only thing that made sense
Was the one that probably didn't make any dollars

I said I wanted to be a good father
That I didn't wanna be an Astronaut
Because I was taught that I didn't need to leave
To Succeed
That I could climb to any height so long as I kept
My feet on the ground
My head in the clouds
And my sights on my principles

Didn't wanna be a Firefighter
Passion already blazed inside a frame
Too young of age to accept its power
Besides, I'm probly gonna spend a lifetime extinguishing my daemons anyway

We were already Cowboys
our Wild West days were just beginning
Tryin' to hijack a living from Bandits in Three Piece Suits
I may not be a Doctor
But I was given all the surgical instruments I would need to
Heal broken hearts
Stitch up old wounds and
Mend rifts between siblings

The teacher smiled
and chalking it up to childhood ignorance
Walked up to the chalk board and wrote
"What JOB (double underline) do you want?"

I grunted

"Mine's the most important job I've heard all day and
WHAT THE FUCK DOES MY JOB
HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT I WANT TO BE?!?!?!"

She jolted

Surprised at the Thunderclouds beneath my eyebrows
and the Venom in my voice
She had no choice
but to put me on timeout to think about what I'd done

Well I'd still prefer to Have a job rather than Be one
And the thought of a son is only SLIGHTLY more enticing than a daughter
'Cause with a son, I've only gotta worry about
One penis . . .
If he's straight

Now, for those of you who may be concerned -
I don't have any kids and I'm not expecting them anytime soon
but sometimes, I envision their rooms in my head
Of tucking them into bed and singing them to sleep
like my father did for me
Passing on the lessons that I learned from him

That Anger
will make you Strong

But Love
will make you Powerful

that family is the foundation on which all strong homes are built and
that wilting beneath the weight of or your tear ducts
is the true measure of a good man
So don't spend the saline solution frivolously,
Not when it can sterilize a tattered spirit
for It to begin the healing process

And that your Name
MEANS SOMETHING
that your imagination is the greatest toy and strongest weapon
You can EVER possess
and it's one of a kind
In a technological age where there's a perfectly logical explanation for everything
I will teach them to dream
For what destitute times we must be living in
When Children are so world weary
They cannot even believe in Magick
I will teach them to make lightning dance beneath their fingertips
To Sing with sea creatures
And Call the many Winds
By their first names
that there are many shades of Good and Evil
But that you gotta be one of the good guys
'cause there are so many of the bad ones running loose

And when I'm shaken loose from this mortal coil
Be brief in your mourning
I will be in the rise and fall of your chest as you
Breathe in the sunrise
I will be the eyes looking back at you from the mirror
and always remember that Daddy loves you

And if anyone's ever stupid enough to ask
"is your father dead?"
You hold your head up high and you say
"No he isn't
Because he lives
in Me"

Now I don't have any kids
And I'm not expecting them anytime soon
but I am Excited
To meet Them.