Never Unhappily

On his birthday Dad died,

a hundred and two.

He may not have been completely happy,

but he was not unhappy—

surrounded by family,

getting a shave

in his granny flat

that he built himself,

in his son’s garage,

that was once his,

but became the son’s,

as that son came to his dying mother,

and stayed for his father, thirty-one years,

with his wife and four boys:

new lives, new loves, four beautiful boys

to amuse an old man with their great affection,

and great achievements through their parents’ guidance.

Dad lived and died nearly happily ever after,

or at the very least, never unhappily.