On March 10th, 1997 the person who had the most influence in my life slipped away from us after years of chronic pain culminating in a massive stroke. He was my father, Eugene Head.

The next morning I awoke in a state of awful grief and penned the words to this poem in his honor. I had never written poetry before so please forgive any structural errors.
 

      Heavenly Flight
                                             By Ken Head

On a cool May morning in Texas
While the bees laid still in the hives
A child was born at the top of the morn
Who would go on to touch many lives

As he grew he endured the depression
He saw twisters, and fires, and floods
Then he took to the skies for his country
And for freedom gave part of his blood

And then he started a family
He toiled to provide them their needs
He sacrificed much of his time and his health
To ensure steady growth of his seeds

As he walked through the years he grew weary
He had given so much of himself
And at the end we surrounded him gently
With a deep love that everyone felt

He left us that night full of sadness
A kind that's so hard to explain
We didn't want him to leave
But we knew he'd receive
A reward at the end of his pain

For we know there are angels among us
Who wait till the moment is right
For a brave mortal man
To break loose of his bands
And join them in Heavenly Flight

© Ken Head, 1997