Poem for Father's Day
This poem is dedicated to all the people out there, for whom Father's Day is a tough. I see you. You too, are worthy of love.
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My father…
Was the breadwinner of the family
He was the one who drove our Trailblazer
Down those old country roads
With the clouds of dust kicked up behind us!
So picturesque!
My father took me to church
Told me to read my Bible
Put my faith in Christ
Go to Sunday School!
Christ has risen!
Don’t you know it?
He taught me to load a rifle
And shamed me when I didn’t want it
Told me to grow some hair
You know where…
An American ideal!
My father was also…
The one who took out his insecurities
On the ones who were closest to him
His choice was a boat oar
I can still feel it, still hear it
Thwap!
Ego is a clever thing
It fills the gaps and convinces you
That it is the answer to life’s problems
It caught my Dad’s insecurity
The man was never drunk
He was always sober
Still he chose this
He hated himself
And took it out on others
Nobody taught him to see the bigger picture
Instead they told him that manhood
Meant you had to assert dominance
By any means!
Empires bully others into submission
They belittle and degrade those who choose
Not to go along with the ride and sigh
With defeat and submission
Because it is much easier to ignore shame
Than it is to seek forgiveness
Than it is to turn over a new leaf
Than it is to start again
When your power only comes
From those you can dominate
It makes a sinister brew
One that can leave you askew…
Ungrounded from the truth
Men are taught to feel superior
To those that are considered feminine
Because weakness and shame
Are easier to pin the blame
Rather than reconcile your emptiness
Oh!
I’m writing this so others will see
How easy we can get lost in categories
If our insecurity goes unreconciled
Our history will only repeat
I sit up at night and pray for my father
My father chose authority
Because he had so little in his life
Nobody taught him to own his power
No one taught him accountability
What narrative are we teaching?
The vicious circle keeps turning
Yet today is a new day
Perhaps it will cycle on
But I am loved so much
I was taught right from wrong
So the narrative stops here
We are not going to the next chapter
We are not turning one more page
This story is old and stale
No
This time I will do different
These cycles end with me
The curse I break is mine
You don't define me any longer!
I choose the truth!
The vicious circle turns
But it ends with me
Here is a new book
This is my pen
Time to get to work!
