“Father”

It is not even the month before the one of Fathers’ Day.  Yet, my reflections today are about fatherhood. That state of being for a man enters my mind in severity at least every time my daughter sees her father.  Today is the day after one of those occasions.  Two statements on the subject had actually attracted my attention long time ago.  One, from an anonymous source: “Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad.”  The other, a Shakespearean quote: “It is a wise father that knows his own child.”

Of course, the same is true for mothers but my thoughts today dwell only on the “father” and in lyrical form, at that.

 

before the divorce already

the siblings’ sole concern

the brother’s lack of a wife

someone gets found

another stashed away

by a friend

just in case…

 

where was the “father”?

after the daughter left for abroad

once her marriage news was in

her husband’s information came about

upon their settlement back in town?

 

she, no longer afar

with years adding to years

precious time passing all by

 

still, in full rejection of him

thus, of the daughter as well

 

how does she survive

 

what does she need

 

is she happy

 

does he treat her well

 

the siblings question in surprise

what bad did your father ever do?

 

I ask:

what is he now willing and able to do

to deserve a daughter like you