He looked at me with twinkling eyes
a gaze that said 'you'll be alright'
'I'm right behind you, don't worry', he said
to a ten year old, saddled and filled with dread
that's right, I was promised a pair of hands
to guide and protect, to help me land
so I looked straight ahead and gripped tight the bike handles
I started to peddle, testing the mettle of my sandals
faster and faster, my heart began to race
with a touch of wind and the sun in my face
I was cruising now, on my own momentum
safe from gravity and other such phantoms
I had earned my wings, a glorious pair
soaring at rapturous speed without care
the embrace of the air, a sensation to share
but when I turned to look, my dad wasn't there
the panic and pride, they did coincide
the wheels still spinning, trying not to collide
I toppled ungainly and fell on my side
never before had I ridden a wilder ride
in the distance I spotted a figure grinning wide
my dad unmistakable with his pair of twinkling eyes
I lay in the shade as he shielded me from the sun
his victorious silhouette, lean and burnt from races run
arm outstretched, covered in scrapes and bruises of his own
extended hand, by nature coarse but gentle toward flesh and bone
still the same old shorts, shirt and head of graying hair
that's when I finally knew, my dad had always been there
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