The Son I Lost Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

The son I lost


My sister had three sons she was not in good health
and when her oldest brother was 16, she died and left them
to a father who was cold and distant.
Since I didn´t have a son, I thought of the oldest, Earl, like my son.
Earl worked hard and studied, and moved out as soon as he could
to a flat of his own.
Of his two younger brothers I have little to say as they succumbed
to the narrow confined of a small town.
Earl married too early to an unsuitable woman, but the marriage
produced a son the divorce court gave to him, which set back
his studies for a few years
Finally, he got his diploma and worked for an oil firm designing rigs and the mysterious world of techniques I know nothing about.
When he had a difficult problem, he came, stayed at my house sat on the terrace to late-night till he found a solution.
Years went by he grew and became a leader, although he was naturally
shy, he put that aside when working.
Suddenly, it appears to me that everything happens at the same time,
It was time for him to retire.
I have lost him as a son, he doesn't need me anymore, and that is the way
It should be.