Remembering, on his birthday.
He is a young man
As he regards his newborn son
lying just beyond the glass,
He is struck by the realization
of the responsibility he now faces
As a father
No longer a newborn,
He is now a young man
Through his experience as a parent
he is gaining a new understanding
Of his father
No longer a young man,
he lies recovering
from yet more surgery
The young man is struck by the realization
of the responsibility he now faces
As a son
On the eve of Father’s Day,
He comes to realize that it takes
more than a holiday to make a father
Just as that father may be loved
on more than just that day
I wrote this for my father in 1993. The video has the story behind the poem, as well as a reading.
rivrvlogr 
I loved this, especially the last verse.
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Thank you.
I have a hard time watching that video, but I do that on his birthday and in early December, when we lost him. It reminds me of the shared love we had.
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I have some wonderful memories of both Mum and Dad. This is the first Christmas without Mum and it feels a little odd not having to plan a trip down South, We shall light a candle on Christmas Day for her and the two Dads. Always with us in our heart.
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Peace. Love.
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You too my friend.
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A touching poem. I went back and watched the video again, and got a little teary-eyed–except my cat provided some comic relief because he was so startled by the bird calls! 🙂
Just before I read this post, I ordered tickets for something later this week, and I noticed the date was my dad’s birthday. He would have been 99.
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Watching that video today made me teary-eyed. I have no idea how I kept it together back when I recorded it.
Yes, those birds were something. I sat in the same spot a couple of days ago to record a video conversation for some friends. The cicadas took over for the birds.
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I don’t know how you kept it together either, but you sounded good.
I liked hearing the birds. Cicadas are just noisy.
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That they are.
Thank you, Merril.
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A beautiful poem and tribute to your father Ken, it was as if the birds were sending you a message too from the other side – from a father to his son with love 💜
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Thank you, Xenia. I like that thought.
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My father passed in 2000… Also born in the summer.
I think relationships with daughters have similarities as well as differences.
An honorable tribute.
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Thank you, Jules.
I know, with two sons and a daughter, that there can be differences, but with qualities of their own.
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Just the two sons here… Though my folks wanted me to have a girl too. I’ve got one of each in the ‘grands’ department. 🙂
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Read the title and immediately started singing the Cat Stevens tune of the same name to myself, and then out loud to My Beloved Sandra. Sadly, my father and I shared no intimacy…ever, as far as I can tell.
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Loved the song. Some lessons are learned too late. Fortunately, a have a great relationship with my children.
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A solid tribute to your father, fatherhood and the life journey…assuming that you are the infant held by your father in the photo, I noticed the waterfalls as a fitting background.
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Thank you, Janice. Photos of me there as a baby probably explain my affinity to the Falls.
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That was my thought 🙂
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Blessed are all who so genuinely honor their fathers and mothers. Your poem warms twice – once in its writing and again in its recollection. A gift . . .
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Thank you, Peter.
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Special poem, I love picture.
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🙂
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It must be Niagara Falls? US, or Canada side?
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The black and white photo is on Luna Island (adjacent to Goat Island on the American side), with the American Falls in the background.
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Such a lovely picture of you three.
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Thank you.
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Very touching, Ken – both your poem and watching/hearing you read it. Thanks very much for sharing.
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Thank you, Betty.
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Just as beautiful as my first reading/listening. I am thinking of my father now. And the circle going around. (K)
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Yes. It continues, through family and friends.
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This is very profound. You reminded me of good times with my father before he became ill.
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Thank you. Hopefully, we all have memories to carry us through.
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Wow! So much more powerful as spoken words along with the story behind it. I’m sure your dad loved it. Nice work Ken.
Pat
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Thank you, Pat. He kept it by his bed until the end.
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Ah..that’s good.
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Outstanding! ❤
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Thank you!
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