My son, I left you far too soon,
Too early to see you walk,
Before the first burble of baby talk,
But even then I somehow knew you.

I almost tottered down the driveway,
Bags heavier than my heart momentarily 
The sunrise a sunset of our last day,
I could not bear to say goodbye.

I left a failed husband,
In the hope I’d still be a father,
But for you and me sadly,
Time’s lost memory left us apart.

Even in those first few months,
We were really father and son,
As I knew when I held you,
When you cried, coped and stopped.

And now it’s fourteen years on,
I still have my imperfect words,
And may find those few more,
That would comfort in the years that matter.

But what was hidden from view
Was that I lost my life saving you,
A marriage sacrificed to be sure,
Perhaps a son’s love will return once more?