"Through his Fathers Eyes"

There was a time many moons ago when there was this boy Roger Junior with a single dad Roger Senior who loved him dearly and only wanted the best for him. They lived in an apartment block in the big city full of lights and black skies at night. Roger Junior would always picture the stars in the sky at night and he was a dreamer. He dreamt of the country and what it would be like to live in a peaceful home with a real family.

Roger Senior was a hard working man and was very angry at times because his wife left him for another man. He was very lonely and his dating skills weren’t that great. Roger Junior would always ask him if he was okay; he would say “I’m always okay, but not always great”. Somehow Roger Junior knew that he wasn’t always okay.

Across the hall lived an old black man, Jerome who played blues songs in his apartment, the boy always wondered why Jerome would sing the blues when he was happy all the time. Every time he seen him he was smiling. One day the boy saw him in the hall and asked him politely “Sir, why do you sing the blues?” Jerome said, “well young man that’s what keeps me happy”. “May you teach me?’ asked the boy. “Well since you asked so politely, as long as it’s okay with your father”.

The next morning Roger Junior sat down for a bowl of cereal with his Dad and he asked him “May I learn how to play guitar with the old man Jerome across the hall?” He said “yeah, why not; as long as it doesn’t interfere with your school. I want you to have a better life, my son”. Okay Dad, thanks and he went off to school.

After school, he got home and he noticed a guitar sitting on Roger Seniors armchair on his dad's lap. His Dad passed him the guitar and said: “Go see Jerome”. Roger Junior immediately went over across the hall and knocked on the door. The old man Jerome answered the door and said “come on in son” and the learning began.

Years passed by and he mastered the blues at the age of 17; his dad Roger Senior always encouraged him to never be afraid to play in front of people and to graduate high school. He was doing well and one day he sang a song he wrote for his Dad at the kitchen table:

“The Bright Stars”

***

“I dream of bright stars

better days and hope for tomorrow

relieve the world of troubled ways

relieve the world of sorrow

I dream of the angels

that guide us through the storm

people always picked fun; of the rising sun

***

I dream of bright skies

after lullabies

through my father's eyes

and I see no pain anymore

***

I dream of bright stars

even in the street lights

when the skies are black

maybe we’re doing okay

even when the sun is at my back

***

I dream of bright skies

after lullabies

through my father’s eyes

and I see no sorrow anymore

***

I dream of a better life

where no one can bring us down

as I would walk through the shadows

I see through my fathers eyes

we fight for another light

and I heard my fathers cries

***

look on the bright side

going along for the ride

in order to turn the tide

to reach for the moonlight

and a better tomorrow”

His father had a tear in his eye and he said calmly “I’m proud of you son”.