Plates and silverware clack and clang
the children push and pull the doorbell string until it rang

Baked bread burns– forgotten in the oven
once again, she’s too distracted and never learns

Conversation buzzes across the table
Voices rise and fall with laughter 
and silence follows food-stuffed mouths,
with stories breaking through as soon as we’re able

To share this gift of family today
celebrating fathers I’m grateful have after years I chased away