2nd Place | “Those Hands”

2nd Place
“Those Hands”
John Bungard
Antioch, TN

Those hands have held babies
Those hands could bend steel
Those hands were cut and callused
From his work out in the fields

Those hands swung the hammer
That built the house I grew up in
Those hands patted my back
And whipped my tail now and then

The right one has a scar from a fire in 88
The left one has a ring from he and mom’s wedding day
They’ve been through things that not many understand
There’s a scrapbook of life inside those hands

Those hands held the wheel
That drove every day to work
Those hands folded in prayer
In the front pew at church

Those hands gripped mine tightly
As I stood by his side
Now they’re folded in front of him
As we cry and say goodbye

The right one has a scar from a fire in 88
The left one has a ring from he and mom’s wedding day
They’ve been through things that not many understand
There’s a scrapbook of life inside those hands

I was proud to be part of the life
In those hands