'Hold on to my hands.' <br /> <br />My father’s gentle hands, <br />Worn by work, a craftsman’s hands <br />Tapering fingers, an artist’s hands <br />Were those I watched with fascination <br />Were those that held mine, a child’s hands, <br />Washed by them with such attention. <br /> <br />Those hands that in my last memories I held <br />And asked him for more time, <br />More time to hold on to them, <br />More time to hold on to him <br />Just a little more time. <br /> <br />Generous as ever, he stretches out his hands <br />To me, a woman now, no longer the child <br />Whose hands he washed so delicately <br />Yet still needing that final contact <br />Still needing to hold his hands <br />For just a little more time.<br /><br />Ellen Devilliers<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-father-s-hands/
