One Time My Father Said He Loved Me by Vince Gotera

One late night in 1962, when I was
around 9 or 10, Papa slipped into my room.
I pretended to be asleep. It was a little bit

strange—Mama was usually the one
who checked on me at night. My father,

a 1960s American male to a T, a WWII vet,
a Bataan POW, was a stoic man, taciturn.
Papa leaned over me. I smelled beer,

though he rarely drank. He whispered,
I love you, Vin. Wanting it to never stop,

I kept my eyes shut. My cheek warmed
to his breath, a lovely warmth I still can feel,
sixty years later, a thousand miles away.

From: https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2023/02/15/one-time-my-father-said-he-loved-me-by-vince-gotera-one-good-memory-series/

Date: 2023

By: Vince Gotera (1952- )