"Dad"

my dad was a hammer
a link in a big metal chain
like the kind you use to tow a car
when he was ten years old
he was putting metal roofs
on buildings in small ohio towns
he didn't finish high school
but was smart and successful anyway
because he knew how to work
was honest and had common sense
a priceless legacy
he was a chrysler car dealer
in a small ohio farming community
for 40 years when you could still
make a car deal and seal it with a handshake
he never complained about anything
he snored in church and it was my job
sitting next to him to punch him
he never mentioned retiring
he worked his last day
went home and laid down in his hammock
in his big backyard surrounded by cornfields
and died
mom found him