The White-haired Man on the Wall

For my Grandfather.

Photo by the Author

You stand there and peer at a face that peers back. He wears his best blue Naval suit. You can’t avoid those stern eyes that follow as you shift through the room.

Safely bound within his gaze like an all-seeing watchtower. Gazing back at his portrait, I travel to a time when we played basketball, not in suits but in casual shorts and his favorite…