The Pain of Father and Sons

At first the father is happy. He holds his new born son; feeling nothing but joy. He watches him grow and learn how to walk, run, and talk. Then another son is expected. He goes through the same joyous time till his new son is five. Then trouble with the mother arises; they only get worse. The family is split. The Father is separated from his sons by their mother. The father hurts; only able to see his sons on certain days. It’s not nearly enough. His two boys miss their father and wish only to get the family back together, but as they mature they know this will never come to pass. Then the sons are taken farther away from their father; now they see him even less, only a few times a year. When they do come to see their father; a countdown is set in motion by their father. When will I lose them again? When time is up the father tries to hold back tears, sometime he is unsuccessful. When they do leave he is left in a slump; taking his frustration and pain out on others. He can only try to remember the good times he had while they were with him until next time. He calls his son when he wants to their voices. His sons do the same. The youngest son is almost grown and his brother is now in college. The father missed out on most of their childhood this fact alone is sometimes enough to bring a tear to the graying man’s eye, and as his son I can say it’s bring tears to mine as I write this.