literature

A Father's Days

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Published: Jun 17, 2018

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Literature Text

fathers need more than one day
to combine Legion's voices
into a semblance
of the one they once had
to conduct its apology
to wives and to widows
of the world
for making them mothers

and fathers need more
than the remaining year
to unload the age
from their bodies
into not-wives and lovers
the comfort and recharge
that makes them the men
their children will soon forget

now i stare into a distant
and starless corner
your wrinkle in my reflection
i drop a stone in it
that's yet to hit bottom
and wonder how i'll be remembered

entitled fatherhood fathersday hypocrisy empty

The concept of fatherhood, father-ness and father-centricity was pushed to the hilt in the church I was brought up in. Fathers were the heads of the church and heads of the households... and were considered the stronger, more logical and fit-to-lead gender. Ya know... God the Father.

It's strange looking back- how so many men lead double lives. So impassioned in the pulpit, with this invisible overhead of what they really were. They become merely disconnected voices, hence the Legion reference.

I once found a letter my father was writing to a fallen colleague in Christ. He wrote of his failings as a husband- most of which I already knew... but, it spun things a little differently to me. The man who wrote the letter was my father and the man from happy-time memories became the ghost.

Anyway, I write things like this to recognize the defect in my bloodline, to encourage my own exercise of caution, and... well, to give voice to those with other than ideal experiences with their fathers.

........and, I suppose it's worth noting that I'm not describing my personal approach to family-manhood. I've learned that there are other ways to do it. So, dads and future dads, don't be arseholes. Be awesome.

Peace and Happy Fathers Day,

Scott