AT THE END OF THE DAY - a new poem by Antonio Cassone

AT THE END OF THE DAY

For my brother, Michael J. Conroy

Sunrise: October 24, 1962

Sunset: August 19, 2017

Just past midnight, a few days after you had left us

Though after many years of your illness, it was sudden in the end

I sat and wrote this for you, after much prayer and deep reflection

In awe of the wonders of life’s jagged road, with its curves on a bend

I thought about our loss is really the beginning of your redemption

Thinking back on our last conversation, as hindsight reveals perfection

We said so many things that I now know needed to be said

I looked in the mirror of our brotherhood with the clearest reflection

I am so glad now that you took the time to reach out to me

For so long, I felt it a burden, even guilty for not reaching out to you enough

Time is not promised to us, and though memories last a lifetime

They can fade in weathered passages, especially when the going gets rough

I do remember, though we may not have been close as adults

Given age, life circumstance and all that it can throw in the way

We shared so much, straight from the heart especially when it came to

Baseball games, splitting a meal, going to the movies back in the day

And the music, let’s not forget about that – it was the common denominator

In our family line, we can all remember jamming on any given Saturday

In the living room, the four of us kids rocking it out

Music runs through our bloodline so rich and strong

I mostly remember occasions along the way

Christmas, Thanksgiving dinners, Easter, our birthdays

You going away to college, even that time you came to my show

The distance between us meant nothing, by picking up the phone with a simple hello

It is in these vignette’s from where I gain my strength now

I can find serenity in the knowledge that you are not suffering anymore,

This life’s struggles seemed mountainous for you

And the worries a constant test of your faith

I remember all the times you prayed for us, all the masses you requested be said

I value the times you kept me in line, when you felt I had done something wrong

And like any big brother, you guided me the best way you knew how and

In the end, you finally showed me appreciation and gave me the acceptance from you that I sought

Now, I hear your voice so plainly as you broadcast to my senses

I smell the fragrance of your spirit, I hear the music of your way,

I touch the air feeling your energy, I taste the sweetness of ice cream,

I see your greatness and love after all of it, at the end of the day

By Antonio Cassone © 2017 – All Rights Reserved