by Candace
(Illinois)
The Man I Love
We began as friends and he provided support and an ever listening ear,
He accepted me for who I am and felt I was dear,
In 1983 I married the man that I have always loved,
He honored me with his life and the peace of a dove.
I knew he loved the Cubs almost as much as he loved me,
I learned to love the poor team too even if the World Series may never be,
He made so many smile with his humor and grin,
I never tired of his wit with chagrin,
Don would wait up for Kristin as she arrived home late,
He would ask her to sit with him and tell of her date,
I was often to bed before he retired at night,
He never forgot to tell me he loved me as he turned out the light,
Don appeared as a cross between Harrison Ford and Richard Gere,
Great to look at and wonderful to hear,
He allowed me to rescue more than a pet or two,
And over the years, their numbers accrued,
I had passionate and stubborn ideas on more than one day,
He would smile and laugh and say it was just my way,
Sharon and Julie would often phone with the familiar chant of, "Where's Candy?"
And he would plan for their call with thoughts that for the next time were handy,
Calm, collected, and patient he was,
When I asked how he could do this he noted just "because"
He had a habit of keeping all the papers he had
Like a packrat on steroids who continued to add,
A man reserved with privacy loving no social intrusions,
We had to think of tales to get him to parties without fuss or confusion,
ESPN was the station most often on TV,
I still don't understand football dynamics and he accepted that it was not to be,
He played Santa for years to his nephews and nieces when they were small,
An event he would often speak of and recall,
Don had a voracious passion for reading nonfiction tomes,
It was one of his favorite things to do each night in our home,
My love for antiques has caused me to over collect and hoard,
With the garage and two storages full he never talked of committing me to the psych ward,
With the marriage of our daughter and her going away,
He would call her often to hear her voice and what she had to say
When our granddaughter Mikayla was being born he paced and paced,
He had forgotten that birth occurs in its own time and space,
Oft Don would talk to himself as he thought,
I learned to half-listen and not get overwrought,
He kept notes and lists of all the things he wished to do,
He would revise and check off accomplishments in his personal review,
Don noted quotes that noted life's meaning,
He would share these with his face just beaming,
He oft said that some work to live and others live to work,
He kindly reminded me of my position in this and all of my quirks,
Don loved the small things that made each day anew,
The sunrise was merely the debut,
When he was 49, he found out his health was impaired,
He never noted anger, regrets, or despair,
When he turned 60 he joked he had turned from young to old,
His outlook on life was one to extol,
Four months ago health incidents began to prevail,
His positive and brave spirit never curtailed,
He fought with conviction, strength, and vigor,
But this time there was no respite or cure,
The Lord knew he was angel in waiting,
He took him home in an instant of breath and in the blink of an eye,
I say goodbye to my Donald Richard here on this earth,
Until we meet again during my rebirth.