Guest Poetry by J. Boyce Gleason
Award-winning Author
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following poem was originally published to J. Boyce Gleason's Facebook page on August 19, 2022. We're happy to welcome J. back to the Daddying blog and to add his "fitting" poetry to the blog's growing archive of daddying verse with his permission...and a knowing nod.
Daddy on!
Lifeguards
Coffee in hand, I ease into the day,
Stealing some peace at the beach
With its endless horizon and its
Slow curling waves
The sun is up, but just
Its rays slanting off the surf below
With a thousand and one lights
Twinkling like Christmas
The lifeguards are training. Their youth
And strength belie the ageless sea
As they attack the water and
Race across the sand.
In their way, they are as beautiful,
Their confidence and grace as
Endless as the horizon
Their bodies sleek as the curling waves
They’ve yet to know the lessons they’ll learn
About how fragile their life can be
And how quickly their strength will fade
But, today they waltz upon the beach like gods
I wait until their dance is done and
Try to capture the peace I seek,
But the waves now roar and rattle my bones
Oh, to be so young, again!
– J. Boyce Gleason
J. Boyce Gleason is a dad to three sons, three daughters-in-law, and five granddaughters. He is an author of award-winning historical novels for mature audiences, including Anvil of God and Wheel of the Fates, Books I & II of The Carolingian Chronicles. Before turning his talents to writing, Gleason worked as a press secretary on Capitol Hill for two U.S. Representatives and served in the private sector as a public affairs and crisis management consultant. Gleason's work on some of the most visible corporate crises in recent U.S. history earned him national recognition and made him a featured speaker and advisor to corporate, academic, civil rights, and nonprofit institutions. He earned an AB in history from Dartmouth College and brings a strong understanding of the events that shaped history to his writing. He and his wife, Mary Margaret, live in Virginia.
