There were two young fellows named King,
Who often were left wondering,
Why their father was gone,
And they had just a mom,
"twas a very troubling thing.
Young Jamie said to his big brother,
"Maybe you should ask our mother,
Just where is our Dad?
Have we done something bad
To make him care more for some other?"
The older boy sighed and said,
"You should ask her instead,
Why Dad stays away
Day after day,"
And then began shaking his head.
"No way, not me," Jamie sighed
"Did you hear last night how Mom cried?
It's you that is older
and therefore much bolder
to get us the answers she hides.
Amanda walked into the room
and felt the slight air of gloom
"Fellas, what's wrong?
Why the faces so long"
The room then grew cold as a tomb.
The boys, they looked down at the floor
and then made their way to the door.
Pushing at one another
"Don't move," said their mother
And asked "What are you running for?"
"We just wanna' go out and play,"
Phillip answered, "it's such a nice day."
"Oh, no," Manda scoffed
"Not 'til we've talked,
About why you're acting this way."
"It's nothing," the elder replied
while "No way," younger Jamie cried
"Just tell me what's wrong
it shouldn't take long
To put all your worries aside."
"Well, it's about Dad," Phillip began,
"We know that he writes when he can,
but we wanted to know
why he just has to go
and travel to strange foreign lands.
"Come here, you two," she then said.
"Without him, some people'd be dead.
She knelt by the two,
said, "Your father loves you,
And kissed them both on the head.
"He travels the way that he does
Because other places lack laws
to keep people well.
Their lives are a hell
and poverty is the main cause."
"They don't have good education,
They don't get any vacation
from the pain that they live
so your father must give
of himself to the poor, starving nation."
"I understand," Phillip replied
While his younger brother just sighed,
He said, "It's not fair!"
why doesn't he care?"
He could love all of us if he tried."
"If he loves us, why isn't he here?'
"He missed all our ball games this year.
He comes and he goes
and nobody knows
why he does it," Jamie said with fear.
"He loves you," Amanda repeated
but her energy was depleted.
She was losing the fight
to do what was right
And began to feel so defeated.
She took both of them by the hand
It was time, she knew, to make a stand.
She led them to the couch
then knelt in a crouch
to face them with truth of the man.
"Your father is not coming back,"
She said with her soul feeling black.
His multiple capers,
led to divorce papers.
his mind only having one track.
She heaved a deep sigh and then said
"He'll be living somewhere else instead."
Our marriage is over,
because he's a rover"
Then in shame, she lowered her head.
She looked back up at the pair,
And said, "Your father still cares,
about you, you know,
but he had to go,
A life we no longer can share."
"I want you to know that I love you,
This has nothing to do with you two,
sometimes grown-ups fight
and they can't make it right
so it's best just to start all anew.
"But why," Phillip asked of his mother.
"I thought you loved one another."
"We do," she then said,
"but our romance is dead,
We're no longer in love with each other."
"I know that you don't understand,
Said Amanda, while taking his hand.
"but sometimes divorce
is not done by force
But yet it's still best in the end."
"It's our fault he's gone, isn't it?"
Jamie queried, his young mind a pit
of worry and grief
and stunned disbelief.
He found he could no longer sit.
He rose to his feet in a hurry,
his six-year-old mind in a flurry
of worry and doubt
he had to get out
his tiny feet began to scurry.
His mother caught him by the waist,
said, "Where're you going in haste?
Before you can walk
We still need to talk"
with a heartbroken look on her face.
In a small voice, she heard Jamie say,
"Did we make our dad go away?"
"You did not," she replied
then sank down and sighed.
"It's me who won't let him stay."
"You may have noticed these days,
that every time we part ways
your father and I
don't see eye to eye
and we fight about it always."
Phillip nodded and said, "Dad's a jerk
by dumping his family for work."
"He's not," Jamie cried.
Then Phillip replied,
"Yes, he is. His duties he shirks."
Amanda said, "Fellas don't fight.
"We're trying to make it alright.
We made a mistake
and for both of your sake
we have to call it a night."
"As I told you both of you once before,
the two of you we adore,
but just not each other."
The weary young mother,
once again, she looked down at the floor.
"We've learned that we can't pretend
that this time it's not the end.
We fuss and we fight
and for you that's not right.
The wrong kind of message it sends.
"I know to you it seems strange,
but nothing here has to change,
We still have each other
and your grandmother.
That we will not rearrange."
"But what about Dad," Jamie queried
His young face still looking worried.
"Will he never come back?
Will a father we lack?"
His feelings just couldn't stay buried.
"He'll come back to visit, I swear,
He just will no longer live here,
to you he will write,"
Amanda replied.
"The two of you he holds dear."
"Now why don't you go out and play,
while there's still something left of the day.
with a nod to the door,
she said, "We'll talk no more.
There's nothing left I can say,"
"But mom," Jamie protested madly
then looked at his mother quite sadly.
"I want to know
why dad has to go.
It makes me feel pretty badly."
"I feel like we did something wrong
to make dad go for so long.
Why'd he go away
if we're doing okay,
when here is where he belongs?"
"You shouldn't feel bad," she said,
then placed a kiss to his head.
"You did nothing wrong,
Now, you run along,
and have some fun with your friends.
"Come on," Phillip said with a shrug,
and then with a grin much too smug,
"Let's get out of this place
"cause Mom needs her space."
as he gave his brother a tug.
"I don't wanna'" Jamie replied
and shoved his brother aside.
"Don't you care that he's gone
and leaves us alone?"
Then through the French doors ran outside.
Amanda went to the back yard
She said, "I know this is hard,
for you to deal with
it's just how it is,
But you two, we won't discard."
"I promise things will get better.
We will get through this together.
"Since you don't want to play,
make use of the day.
Why don't you write your dad a letter?"
"I know this news has you reeling,
but tell your dad how you're feeling.
It might help him to know
that you're feeling low
and help you both to start healing."
"No way," Jamie said with a pout.
"There's no way of working this out."
He's always been gone
and never comes home
and I don't know what it's about."
"If he can't stick around for his family
and be what a father should be,
I won't write about
what we do without
and let him know he hurts me."
"I know that you're hurting inside
but your feelings you shouldn't hide."
Your father and you
could start something new,
if you let him," his mother replied.
"If he did what a good father should,
I s'pose I willingly would,
tell him how I feel
and tell him for real
but I doubt it would do any good."
"Well, I'm going to," Phillip replied.
from the door he stood just inside.
"He may be a jerk."
he said with a smirk,
"But he is still our father besides."
"I'm glad to hear you say that,
Amanda said, "It's a fact.
He is still your dad
though it looks bad,"
and gave her son's head a pat.
"Now, you two go on with your day,
just run on along now and play,
Don't worry about
how things will work out
with your father going away.
Even though our marriage must end,
your father will still be my friend,
we talked this all out
and we have no doubt
it's no longer best to pretend."
"We have to act as a family
so we all can be happy.
Things have been bad
That's why I've been sad
and acting so melancholy."
"My sadness has made you sad too,
Not good for the two of you,
but now I have hope
that we can all cope
and start all over brand new.
Her optimism shone through
to her boys in spite of the news
"Okay," Said young Jamie
"I guess we will see.
You sound like you know what to do."
Jamie then looked at his brother,
who said, "Just trust our mother.
She won't let us down,
she's been around
unlike our absentee father."
Phillip said to his mother, "You knew,
this is what you were going to do.
'cause dad just won't stay
and keeps going away.
The divorce won't be anything new."
"We're not a couple, not really,
to stay together's just silly,
although we still care
the feelings aren't there
to make a marriage fulfilling.
Amanda explained to her children,
"But this doesn't mean life will end,
It may sound too sappy
but we will be happy
the hurt we feel now will mend."
Jamie was mute for a moment,
then said, "it doesn't make sense,
how glad can we be
with a broke family?
Then threw himself on the bench.
She sat beside him just then
"Our family is not broken,
she said with a sigh.
"And as time goes by,
you'll see we'll be happy again."
"I know that I said it before.
I don't want you to worry no more,
I'm over my grieving,
with your father leaving,
and that now it will be just us four.
"I still have you and your brother
and I have the help of my mother
She'll be here to stay
to help make our way
and we just have to love one another."
"That's just what a family does.
That doesn't stop just because
things may look bad
or make us feel sad."
Her words gave Jamie a pause.
"So you mean that our life will go on
even though without dad it seems wrong?'
"That's just what I mean.
This break will be clean,"
she answered, her will feeling strong.
"Now, I don't want to see you worry,"
she said with her eyes getting blurry
"Go get some play in
spend time with your friends,
You still have time if you hurry."
The boys hurried off to obey,
as she watched them walking away,
she worriedly sighed
then broke down and cried
for the hurt they suffered that day.
Her cheery facade having faded,
in her melancholy, she waded.
She let it all out,
her fear and her doubt
the thought of the new life just grated.
She pulled herself up with a sigh,
having cried out all she could cry.
she took off the ring
that once meant something
and flung it nearly sky high.
She dried her tears on her sleeve.
and needing to feel a reprieve
from the pain that she felt
her husband had dealt,
decided to no longer grieve
From the back yard she hurried away
to go find her children at play,
watched them having fun
and said, "Now that it's done,
I've a feeling it will be okay."