Idle Hands

Daddy with a few of the Case tractors he restored
Idle Hands
(for Daddy)
 
Never one for idle hands
You created and built
A lifetime of memories and moments
You left behind a legacy
Of love and hard work
You handed your family
The callouses you earned
On hands never idle
Held to the very end
In love and understanding
Your hands building and rebuilding
Making the old new again
Seeing the puzzle of the broken
As a challenge to make whole again
What others couldn’t see
Those hands never idle
Even to the very end
Taking care of everyone
With actions greater than words
Rest now
Let your loving, calloused hands finally be idle

T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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