I am not extremely drawn to poetry so it was a little peculiar when I was sick the other day and this poem kind of materialized out of nowhere. I was actually working on a post I have partially written when I found myself fighting the rhyming verses that kept materializing. So, this was produced instead.
ReGeneration
Perhaps I had it coming,
But I don’t remember well
Why I often wore the welts of belts
When I was small Michele.
My father’s rage often hit the roof
While my mother simply played aloof.
She’d say his name in that horrid whine
As if that would suddenly help this time.
When as a child I lie in bed
Anger and fear swirling through my head
The kind and gentle face I saw
Was the apparition of my grandpa.
While lying there I began to cry.
For the thought that he would someday die
Sent floods of salty streams to flow
To soak the core of my pillow.
I greatly envied my own mother
Having a father such as he,
And I equally resented her
For choosing mine for me.
Our fathers represented
The likes of day and night.
The gentle one had been to war;
The other learned to fight.
From the childish vision of my dad
I often thought all men were bad
Then I recalled the other man who
Showed us warmth so kind and true.
Now I’m grown and he is gone
But I am lucky he lived so long.
I’m only sad my kids didn’t see
Just why he was so special to me.
It’s quite ironic, this circle of life
For now despite my childhood strife
My once hurtful father is no more–
He’s now the grandpa my kids adore.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
That last paragraph really got me…
April 28th, 2008 at 8:30 am
That last sentence made me smile.
It’s like the “and they live happily ever after” in every fairy tale.
I like happy endings.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Thanks, Piebuko.
Like I was telling my cousin, Lynn (commenter above), I had no idea where this would go when I began, especially since I didn’t set out to write it to begin with. The last two lines suddenly popped into my head and I also liked how it ended with a positive thought.
Your mention of happy endings has possibly inspired me to write another post! So, thank you!
April 28th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Wow, that was a great poem. I especially like the 5th stanza. And the last. And all the other ones too.
Nicely done!
April 30th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I don’t have any comment. All I did was just nod my head through the whole thing. Just wanted to let you know. Powerful.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:02 am
My son’s high school principal, a man who’s wisdom I greatly respect, once told a group of us to be aware of the injury we are inflicting on our children. He wasn’t talking about any specifics. He was simply saying that none of us are perfect. None of us are perfect parents. All of us are doing some right things, AND some wrong things that will somehow hurt our children.
Just because we are adults, with the great responsibility of raising our children well, it doesn’t mean we always do it well. We are on a learning, growth journey of our own. Your dad’s journey seems to have brought him to a better place. I’m glad for all of you. And I hope that you can somehow understand these funky things of life, accept, forgive, and be happy.