Complex Apartments
After the nine hour drive,
he arrives in the congested parking lot,
his father's dusty Denver apartment building.
Grasping for bags,
he ascends cobblestone staircase.
The door opens and he is met
by gray-speckled-mustache smile.
Bags fly down, hands embrace.
Greetings volley and
memories rush back.
Turning to TV,
the son spots Peyton Manning
and stares as the football spirals
downfield on a mid winter's day.
With stealthy surprise
his father springs to action.
He throws arms violently
until his bicep presses against
his son's innocent neck.
Trapped in the infamous headlock,
forced to breathe in
his father's Old Spice deodorant,
he is home.
(Paddlefish)
