A Father's Feelings

We found a stillness in the mountains

Where the water holds the sky

Days move slow when no one’s chasing

Who they were or why

I watched you share the air and silence

Like peace was something learned

And I thought about the years behind us

And the corners we all turned

I don’t need to know the ending

I don’t need the map tonight

Just let me stand here in the middle

Of how you’ve learned to live your lives

You came to me like bending branches

Listening more than you would speak

I was scared of every quiet moment

Afraid of what the world might take

But you grew your own strange weather

Roots where I couldn’t see

Quick laughs that lean a little sideways

Honesty without apology

You love like it’s your native language

Say the good things out loud

I used to pray you’d be protected

Now I watch you teach me how

I don’t need to know the ending

I just needed time to see

Some hearts aren’t meant for armor

They’re meant to move the trees

You burned bright early, sharp and restless

Eyes too open, shoulders tight

Held the weight of grown-up knowledge

Through the longest nights

I asked you to be more than ready

Before you knew the cost

You learned how to run through rough water

And not count what you lost

I see how you keep shaping yourself

Like the current knows your name

I worry when the banks fall away

And still I’m proud the same

You’re heading out where choices widen

Where the world fights back

But you’ve always known how to carve a path

Even through the cracks

I don’t need to know the ending

I just hope you understand

You were never meant for stillness

You were meant to find your land

And you’re still standing half in daylight

Half inside your doubt

Kindness spilling from your pockets

Even when you don’t reach out

There’s a quiet fire in your posture

In the way you care and try

You don’t yet see the wings you’re growing

Or the strength behind your eyes

I hope you learn to trust that warmth

Let it lead you through

Bravery doesn’t mean no fear at all

It means walking with what’s true

I don’t need to know the ending

I’ve seen enough to say

Whatever roads rise up before you

You’ll find your way

Now you sit together easy

Like this was always known

And I finally understand my future

Is watching you go home