WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.....?
I sit here on this day, watching you asleep:
Your curls, silver now, but still draws my fingers;
Your features, lined and worn with care --
But forever beautiful;
Your body, not so supple, but mine alone--
And I wonder: where it all began?
Life? I was born Kenneth Thordyn Hutchinson,
Into comfort, a planned life, inherited wealth and
Friends who were all the 'right people'; I had it made
Bullshit! I had nothing - until I met you.
Comfort? A bunch of stiff-necked men
Whose only conversation was the latest happenings
On Wall Street or their newest conquest.
Comfort, to me, is your presence: solid and reassuring,
To be counted on when the pressures of the job close in,
Or the nightmares seek me out as prey.
A planned life? Always was a dreamer, wanting to be the hero:
Lancelot
- shining armor, astride a snow white steed,
Sword flashing, out to rescue the maiden fair.
Oh yeah!?? My steed is a red and white Torino;
My sword and armor - plain clothes, gun and badge.
And my maiden? Let's face it, babe, if I'd been
Lancelot - Camelot would'nt've fallen.
Wealth? Most of its invested or banked,
There to do with as I please - grumble about cost;
Then spoil you shamelessly, delighted in your surprise.
But, babe, don't you know, you're my real wealth?
Your friendship, professionalism, beauty - your precious love.
All make me rich as any millionaire or King.
As to the right people? Dobey, Huggy Bear, even
Your family - nice; but
you
are my life.
And, suddenly, I know where it all began!
The day, forty years ago, when I stood before
Dobey and he said:
"Hutchinson, meet Starsky, your partner."
Jatona P. Walker: 10/26/90
First published in
If Their Mothers Only Knew #1