Ten Months Ago Dad Moved Forward Into Another Life Stage (Not For the First Time) and Nothing Is The Same

It's not the first time his moving
into a new stage was hard;
when he moved into the world of
being a senior senior it was difficult
and different than all that had come before.
But then he was still here in
a somewhat similar way to before.
He'd ask me questions, he'd tell me things,
and I heard him, and his presence
was pervasive in my life.
Now he's stepped back in a way
he never did before, and it is my sense
of his absence that is pervasive.