his life had bookends

not the perennial birthdate deathdate 

rather once only sun set

                              and now sun rise

sun set was reserved for his wife

they separated once

he wanted to provide them seed moneysubstantally for their lives together

he didnt foresee it being nipped in the bud

his strident personality and demeanor offput those who were in charge they preferred he cater to them   kowtow

he didnt have a clue who they thought they were but that wasnt happening

the one who was charged to discharge him said  Nothing personal, it’s business.

after he beat him near senseless a large snotbubble swelling out of the mans nose he told him Nothing personal

he left the state

he had his story

people who knew him vouched for him

his intention to harvest serious seed money had his fanny on a tunaboat

he fished the Pacific a thousand miles off the coast of Peru

he told his wife if she would watch the sun set he would too  they would be together

as it was whenever they were apart they watched the sun set to be together and when they were together they stopped what they were doing and went outside to watch it

if they were with friends they excused themselves

they didnt offer an explanation

curious that that offput people

which determined that those people werent worth their friendship

they had few friends

they didnt seek friendships

they suffered the mire of acquaintances while their children went through school and began socialising

a necessary evil

when they could they pursued their solitude they imagined how nice it would be when their children went to college to form their own lives

                      as they had formed theirs

maybe then theyd forge friendships

maybe not

but before they could set things in practise his wife died

he watches the sun set for them and remembers

sun rise ruddy or brilliant was reserved for his eldest daughter

when she was a girl she would get up when he didhe was an early riser

so he dragged her out into the peeking sun and yelled Good Morning

                                                                      startling her

but she caught on  and they yelled Good morning together

when she went off to school he told her if she would watch the sun rise he would too they would be together

years after his wife died his daughter died in a wreck

bookends 

            thoughtfully  sun set    sun rise

0713,  Saturday,  21  12. 19 – First Day of Winter

1222, Thursday,  7  5. 20