Destiny of Silence in Lost Words

When I was young your voice was thunder, an echoing refrain
It rolled across the valleys and bespoke the chance of rain
Not much a man of soft caress or playing in the yard
Your coveralls and gnarled hands told of a life too hard

It seemed as I grew older that your voice, though seldom heard
Took on a greater meaning weighing down each precious word
But in my youthful wisdom I did other counsel seek
(Never dreaming that a day would come when I’d long to hear you speak)

And now so many questions that I never chose to ask
Left unanswered just beyond the reach of my regretful grasp
Fill my heart with such deep sorrow of the conversations lost
All decisions great and small eventually exact their cost

Advice is rarely welcome when unbidden, but I pray
That each one of you here listening will go forth this very day
And reach out to those you cherish for the answers that you seek
Before time and fortune’s destiny no longer let them speak