Father’s Day Poems for Dad, By Dad
In honor of all of our Rocket City Dads, our resident author and fellow dad, Benjamin Shapiro shares a poetic parenting perspective on all things Father’s Day.
To My Dad, These Six Years Gone
I think about you
Everyday, missing you,
Though you live in me.
Dad
It was only the first nine months
That I did not carry you,
Since then I have held you close.
You are my reason for
Being a better man,
The driving purpose of my life.
I am the one who holds you
When times get tough,
The one who scolds you
When you need a lesson.
I teach you independence and
Kindness, empathy and
Forgiveness and love
Unconditional.
I am your dad.
And it is the best
Job title
In the universe.
Dear Girls
From the anthology, I Once Was Free But Now Am Bound
Dear girls,
Daddy here
You are my world
You give me cheer
I am only here today
Due to the love you give
I just wanted to say
Thank you for helping me live.
Once upon a time, you see
I was not the man you know,
Not e’en the man I sought to be,
The man you helped to grow.
I hope you were too young then
To remember the bad days,
To remember all the times when
I stumbled in a daze.
I was a drunk and very mad
I treated you so wrong
I made your mother very sad
And barely got along.
I didn’t hate you guys at all,
Though it did seem that way
I was a human who did fall
And I tried to run away.
No, I never left you guys,
My escape was beer and wine,
And when I drank, my ire did rise,
It happened every time.
In the punishment I sought
I really punished you,
Demons needed to be fought,
But I only hurt you two.
One day I woke up in pain,
Your mother wanted to leave,
I swore I’d never drink again,
A promise hard to believe.
But I have kept it up so far,
And hope I’ll make amends,
You two are my shining stars
My babies to the end.
Forgive a lost man, for his heart
Belongs to my heroes two.
We’ve been given a new start.
As always, Daddy loves you.
Father’s Day
On this day, we grill,
For it is our day, and we
Must cook anyway.
Dads of All Sorts
There are dads
Of all sorts:
Some play catch
And teach sports
Other dads
Build blanket forts,
Some dads
Work all day long,
Others share
A pretty song,
Fishing and hunting
Are some dads’ way
Other dads are
All about play.
No matter which dad
You happen to be
May your Father’s Day
Be Happy.
You Might also Like…
Benjamin Shapiro graduated from Washington College with a BA in Philosophy. He is a transplant to Huntsville from Baltimore, MD. Ben is a stay at home dad to two lovely daughters. He currently has a collection of poetry entitled "Dance of the Entwined Branches" available on Amazon. He blogs over at The Other Ben Shapiro.