The Man Who Waits Outside Our House

There was a man
Who waited
In his car
He waited outside our home
For hours if need be
As his daughter played within.

At first we only saw the cherub child
Little girl belly down on the floor
Yelling "Go Fish" with the volume
known to her kind.
We didn't know he waited.

When discovered he was entreated-
Come in! Come in!
And finally he came.

He waited because he worried
Two people essentially alone.
He waited because he had failed
Two people homeless and scared.
He waited out of experience
Of other children, ruined from lack of attention.

These stories spilled from him
Like a confession to a priest
Lacking absolution, forgiveness and redemption.