It’s funny the things you remember and likely will never forget
For me, it’s the first phone number my family had when I was growing up
For some reason, it’s been echoing in my head for the last week or so
And even though I hadn’t dialed it in over forty years
I’d thought I give it a try.
After five or six rings I was getting ready to hang up
When the voice on the other end said
“I’ve been waiting for your call”
And I was shocked to hear the voice of my father
And our conversation started out slowly
We spoke of mundane things at first
Like two strangers talking about the weather
But there was something left hanging between us that we could both feel
Like the heavy air of a humid summer day
Just waiting for a thunderstorm to come wash it clean
When I left home we hadn’t parted on the best of terms
And when the words finally came like the rain from the thunderstorm
We settled some old scores and washed our slates clean
And this time it was different and we said our goodbyes fondly
With a promise to stay in touch
I tried the number again the other day
And was greeted by a mechanical voice on the other end that said
“The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected
And there is no forwarding information”
I wasn’t too surprised, after all
He’s been dead for over thirty five years.