Every time I see my father
It's like meeting someone
For the first time.
You walk up a if meeting
For some business proposal
As if you were assigned a time
And date
To reminisce about memories
On one side of the merger
And then you sit in the car
In silence
With this stranger
Wondering how much of yourself
You should show,
You think about image, maketing, and sales pitches.
What kind of man he is.
You skim over formailities,
"How is the Ms.?"
"What's the weather like in Phoenix?"
Always the same answer.
By the end of the car ride,
You are looking at your Dad.
The one you played football with
As a kid.
The one who brought home dinner
And hogged the T.V.
And just like that,
I am helping him carry his bags again
To board the plane again
To take him away again
And the handshakes are stronger than the hugs.
And when you see him walk away,
He is not your Dad,
Nor father.
But a businessman,
Just dropping in
On behalf of his employer:
S.C. Johnson
A family company
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