–by Patrick Dennis Riley

–

In Memoriam, R.M.R. 1922-2005

12 years old
when i was born

he graduated from
high school before
i knew what
school meant

and fought as a
wartime marine
with a browning
automatic
rifle on the bloody
battlefields of
bougainville
while i played
army with
a toy wooden
machine gun
on the beautifully
wooded fields
near our
house

he remembered
me as a baby
in a highchair
spilling
a cup of milk
onto the
kitchen floor

i remembered
the sunday
newspaper
arriving and
him telling me
gruffly
that he
always gets
the funny papers
first

he came through
the kitchen door
in uniform
loaded down
with gifts

the next morning

his first as a
civilian he slept late
mom and dad
sent me with my
trumpet to his room
to play reveille
he became
extremely angry

he once showed
me a military
.45-caliber pistol
he kept in a dresser
drawer he secretly
brought it home
concealed in his
armpit

profane
tough & likable i
loved his persona
and i loved him

the funny papers
will always be yours
my friend
my brother

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Patrick Dennis Riley is a professional piano/keyboard/percussion player with over thirty years of pro experience in the Washington, DC area. His interests & activities include music production/composition in a home studio using a computer, midi, synthesizers, and multi-track recording software. He is a past member of the American Federation of Musicians – locals 161, 770, & 389. His music performance experience includes US army bandsman – club dates – steady location work at hotels, restaurants, and piano soloist in the dining rooms and lounges on the Carnival Cruiseline cruise ship Fantasy cruising from Florida to the Bahamas.He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Indiana State Teachers College, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and a Master of Music degree in Music Composition from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

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