One Father and His Son
One father and his son
Squaring off one on one,
Their stark corners chosen
To battle beholden.
They feign softer punches,
No impact, no crunches.
The two lull each other,
One safe topic...another.
They commence the main card.
Their punches now land hard.
Prickly past draws its blood.
No knockdowns, ample blood.
One father and his son,
Squaring off one to one,
One father and his son.
Oh, Woman, Hardened Soft
Oh, woman, hardened soft,
Gone somewhere,
Who knows,
Aloft?
She gave such quiet,
Never a question,
Begged her rebel son
To respect this father,
Referreed such battles
That neither had won.
Oh, woman, hardened soft.
She had a calmness
That with some luck
Could stay the nascent fire.
She wanted much of her son
But forgot to ask him
Before her early expire.
Oh, woman, hardened soft,
Gone somewhere,
Who knows,
Aloft?
The Narrowing Pool
The aged man faces the pond of water.
He throws the same stones
But not as far.
He watches as their ripples
Spread their allotted, angry arc.
Lear-like he listens for his son's failures,
The Transgressions that might threaten
His watery kingdom.
He does not care that his son come or go
That he still have his petty things
Left on his list to do
For the son's life is nothing
Next to this majestic, watery mausoleum.
Alone, he sits watching,
Drinking in the surrounding water,
Ever drinking in
The narrowing pool.
Forgive Your Father
Forgive your father,
Forgive yourself.
So much a bother
To free oneself.
Caught in repeating,
Constant recall
Of past's remembrance
Persistent thrall.
Dreams violently
Capture each night
Allow no solace,
Remember slight.
Forgive your father,
Forgive yourself.
Take now the bother
To free oneself.
Fatherhood
Fatherhood comes in all gradations:
Some on all fronts worth citations;
Some are ample in donations;
Some give more loving foundations.
A few like doomed Agamemnon
Sacrifice their children upon
The proud mission they choose to sail.
Accursed the destiny they don.
But few are that bald by choice.
Most wander through less tragically,
Plus and minus totes they tally
Balancing out in finale.
We try our best to somehow score
A satisfactory summation.
Fathering is full of choices.
Best of show sparks childhood voices.
