The Days Of My Life

I was born in the year of our Lord 1963
In the great city of Dallas
At Parkland Memorial Hospital
In the early morning hours of November 22nd.
Mama was so excited at the timing of me coming
That she proudly blessed me
With the stately name of
Kennedy Dakota Evans.

When I was 4, Dad picked me up,
Held me tight in his arms and cried
Saying some terrible disease had
Come taken mom and she was gone.
The day was April 4th
And it seemed to young me
That the whole world had stopped,
Took notice and mourned.

“I choose to do this, not because it is easy,
But because it is hard,” is what I said
Repeatedly on the day of July 21, 1969.
And I ripped the bandages off
My skinned knees and giddily
Rode my bike without aid of training wheels
Down the street for the first time.

In the fall of '89, after nipping at my heels like a puppy
Through all of high school and college,
John Francis took a hammer
To all the protective defenses around my heart
That I had carefully set
And on the 9th of November, a day I won't forget,
Got down on his knees and handed me a ring
Pledging his undying love in exchange for a yes.

We packed our belongings in the trunk of a sedan
And moved to Houston with hopes of starting a family.
I remember sitting across from a slick haired lawyer
In 2003, using Evans as my signature that February first,
And walked away with tears from the failed challenge
Of our disintegrated marriage
Crashing back down to earth.

I'm no psychic and won’t ever pretend
To predicting my coming future
As I continue growing old
And look back at the days of my past
And take notice in the coincidence
Of all my circled calendar marked events,
That this life was lived most between the days
That I either laughed hardest or sobbingly wept.