30 Poems for National Poetry Month: Day 16
April 16, 2013
Here is my poem for Day 16:
I never met your father,
But I feel his presence
In your life, on this day
Every year since we met
At Poets House, the tenth
Anniversary of his passing.
We sat by the river,
Two good friends watching
Our kids chase each other
In the playground.
Moments of silence,
Never awkward;
A few laughs.
I don’t know what you
Were thinking then,
Except I know it meant
A lot that I wanted to be
With you on that day,
To help you through it
With poetry and laughter,
The distraction of kids
Playing and eating lunch.
A man who cared
And understood what
This day means to you.
Who cared enough
To seize the day
And pay attention
To the meaning
Of your heart.
–Scott Edward Anderson
Scott Edward Anderson
Scott Edward Anderson's Poetry Blog 
April 18, 2013 at 6:55 pm
Your poem is built with such beauty. Thank you, Diane
April 24, 2026 at 4:07 pm
[…] Block Island was the first island we ever visited together and, as always, there’s something about being surrounded by water — the sound of the sea, the weather doing whatever it wants — that resets something deep within you. We needed it. We were also on an island that meant a lot to her father, who passed away 25 years ago on April 16th, so we were feeling his presence as well. (I wrote a poem on that date in 2013, referring back to the 10th anniversary of his passing, which you can read here.) […]