I grew up
a pampered princess
a late life arrival, long desired.
I felt my father’s
fondness every day-
a travelling salesman
who never missed a moment
of my active life.
But you
lost your father
along the way, lost sight
of him over the barriers
your mother built between you.
What was it like to find him
as he was dying, knowing
he had never stopped
loving you, though you
were equally lost to him?
Once you found him,
he slipped into eternity.
As I watch you, so
polished at your work,
on this career high,
I wonder,
Are you still a lost boy?
Or did the chance to embrace him
at the end of his life,
to know how proud he was of you,
help ease the sorrow
as you set him free to fly?
I forgive you
for not meeting me for tea
And I wonder,
what kind of father
will you let yourself be?
.
.
(For S&D)
Shawn L. Bird 
Lovely … deep feelings.
Yes. Poor guy.
This hits the mark for me personally in many ways – thank you for sharing … Cheers J
I’m glad you were able to connect to it. Take care.
Very effective and affecting.
Thank you.
so nice… ❤
Thank you.
Wow, powerful and poignant. Loved the everydayness of ‘i forgive you for not meeting me for tea’ which made me smile and ache with it’s lack of drama. H xxx
Thanks.
lovely
Thank you.
Deep feelings expressed is a lovely poem.
Thank you, Michelle.
This is one of the best poems I ever read really its short and simple 😀 but so evoking
Thank you. I’m glad it speaks to you.
Once again I’ve been there second hand. Beautiful and direct.
Thanks Howard.
I hope it doesn’t feel like I’m stalking you!
Nice work Bird.
Thanks.
I was lucky, to have had my father in my life until I was 36. I haven’t been a perfect father, but have been engaged in the role, and remain so.
36 seems so young.
Keep engaged!
This is really beautiful because it’s truthful. There ARE men that aren’t allowed to be fathers to their kids because of parental politics, and so many people fail to realize that there are no winners in those situations; there’s just anger and resentment. Shit like that is why I don’t have any kids yet. Thanks for writing this.
I hope the time will come when a safe relationship provides that freedom.
The other side of the story is in the Oct 6 blog post: https://shawnbird.com/2014/10/06/poem-journeys/
It’s a work-in-progress. 🙂
Amazing. Love the emotions in this.
Thanks, do check out the companion poem, Journeys (linked here in the comments)
This poem is absolutely gorgeous….it spoke to me in a ways that poetry has not spoken to me in years.
I’m so honoured that you shared that, Robert.
Thank you.
This is so lovely. Definitely a favorite of yours 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lena
Wow!
🙂