From Here I Know You

My belonging began with you
for you are my father
Yet the worlds we have inhabited
intersect only through time

I have your eyes
but I can not see you through them
I have your strong body
and still I am unable to walk in your shoes
My quick mind I gratefully inherited from you
but it does not help me to know you

My quiet heart unspoken, familiar, recognises you
I can know you so intrinsically
and yet our differing worlds
leave rifts so great
they can only be filled by silence

Sadness, that I never really knew you
Acceptance, that I never really could
Our defining life experiences too different
no words can bridge this chasm

Your philosopher’s soul
you passed down to me
From here I know you
From here
I mourn your passing

JANE O’SHEA
from ‘Follow Yourself Home - 1st edition’