~If I Father~
By WordWulf, 15th Jun 2011 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutFamilyParenting
~eighteen when my first daughter was born~thirty-seven when the fifth child~my second son came to join us~those three girls & two boys have had quite a time with me~sharing life with them~the single most significant event of my being~has been a prayer~the oldest of eight children~searching for a lifeline~I wondered~if I father~
~Eden~
~I have watched each of them sleep~
~tasted the perfect bloom~
~of their sweet child breath~
~thought of myself ~
~as the great protector~
~keeper of precious fragile flames~
~not so much I think~
~as I witness their awakening~
~into the dawn of youth~
~the embrace of young adulthood~
~parenthood~
~I listened to their stories~
~told one to the other and others~
~voices pure and beautiful ~
~as fine silk~
~texture my ears could touch~
~while listening~
~I learned of their suffering~
~that their lives had been staggered~
~by sullen blows of doubt~
~& fear that I~
~their father~
~might come crashing~
~through those doubting walls~
~to discover them~
~in the company of the ghosts~
~of their imperfections~
~Five~
~in the night~
~voices speak to me~
~the tiny ones of my children~
~who have come to go~
~will always remain with me~
~grown past the child whispers~
~I aspire to hear~
~I answer them~
~in fatherly mumbles~
~tears in my eyes & melancholy~
~for what has passed~
~in my time of living~
~you see they are the protectors~
~of my imperfections~
~I congratulate myself on a job well done~
~because they need me less now ~
~than ever before~
~& never so much as I imagined~
~in my fatherly throes ~
~my attempts to interpret~
~fatherly duties~
~do’s, dues, & don’ts
~a symphony of tiny voices~
~echoes ring down~
~the spiral canyon of my years~
~they speak to me~
~in a perfect symmetry~
~of childhood wisdom~
~they fairly embrace me to stand~
~Circle~
~there are those~
~who accuse me of talking to myself~
~they got that right~
~my children are myself~
~the very ones I am addressing~
~ones I have become~
~I may be answering questions~
~from a score of years gone~
~by and by as I watch~
~my daughter with her daughter~
~my oldest son in conversation~
~with his brother~
~twelve years his junior~
~yes daughters & sons~
~with sons & daughters~
~to all of them I say~
~I am your father~
~that is all I am~
~& in that complete~
~you lend me strength~
~make me proud~
~in a most beautiful revelation~
~the knowledge & carriage~
~of our shared imperfections~
~stepping forward through it all~
~embracing & supporting one another~
~you carry me to a place~
~of unconditional devotion~
~love without fear~
~lighting candles~
~in the dark corners of my spirit~
~I am made to be free~
~a man~
~my children have been~
~& remain yet~
~perfect sentinels of my journey~
~If I come to see beyond the shadow~
~If I come to walk into and through the fire~
~If I come to feel~
~to love and be loved~
~If I father~
~Tom (WordWulf) Sterner~
~Day of the Wah~ 59
~Green Ghetto~ 187
~Good Happens~
~A Child Is~
Comments
16th Jun 2011 (#)
wonderfully said, I wish all the best for your family :)
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
Thank-you twice:-)
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
You're a great man, father and writer, Tom.
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
I'm sure you are a good father for your kids, wordwolf. In those pictures I can see a happy family. Send my warmth regards to all of them.
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
A celebration of the present... and a life of strength; what better reward than your beautiful family, your poem is perfection!
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
Wonderful post and lovely family!
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
Lovely biographical elements!
I like you, Father!
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16th Jun 2011 (#)
This is great and thankyou for sharing your lovely family with us.
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17th Jun 2011 (#)
Very lovely, the greatest job we will ever have is being a parent..... you have done your job well!
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17th Jun 2011 (#)
Tom, this really choked me up...You have written incredible poetry, and this is one of the loveliest..How proud you are, how treasured you are..How honoured I am to read such a heart-felt share...Just beautiful, my friend. Congrats on a Star status...so very well deserved..
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17th Jun 2011 (#)
Hello Wordwulf, what a fascinating poem, an honest reflection of what I can see in your photographs, thanks for sharing your family with us:-))
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17th Jun 2011 (#)
Thanks, everyone. I'm here in CO in my youngest daughter's backyard in my ol' '76 Mitchell camper (you may be a redneck if:-)
Tomorrow I'll get lots of hugs & kisses from kids & grandkids to sustain me the next six months in CA. I appreciate your comments & am pleased to have someone to share my work & the joy of my children with:-)
Best regards,
Tom
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20th Jun 2011 (#)
The pride you carry as a father comes bursting through in your exquisite poetry, Tom. Wonderful! Stupendous! Awesome! The pictures - marvelous. Your family - beautiful!
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20th Jun 2011 (#)
You have a beautiful family wordwulf and clearly you have a lot to be proud about. I particularly like the little guy at the front with the oversized hat, it made me smile. Thank you for letting us in a little.
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30th Aug 2011 (#)
greatt work wourdwulf!
hatts off to u as a father, well done, u held up to ur responsibilites and justified the glorius status bestowed by GOD and I congratulate u for that!!!
thnx alot for sharing:)
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