Of My Daddy...

He, gave himself freely to the idea of marriage and family
When I was known to exist. And on rare occasions his eyes
Tell of his storied past and how different his life now is
From what he had imagined it being.
As his eyes refocus, Removing from his trance,
A glimmer of hope shines from his soul.
His eyes meet mine and he begins to ramble on about me being his heir
And I cannot sit still. They burn into me like sunlight through
Ice cubes and I melt into his hands, Taking careful note
Of his wise saws, praying that I will one day be as wise as he.

He, is the reason I'm watching every time the Windies lose!
Each time they don their whites and proceed to soil a history
Of years of cricketing dominance with lack luster fielding
And mediocre batting efforts, I can't miss a ball!
I watch with eager anticipation of the day they'll turn it around,
And I only do this because it was one of the few things
That we did together.

He, taught me how to respect the ground; the earth;
How to till and plough and weed and prepare for sowing.
He taught me how to plant tomato plants,
Far enough apart so that they don't inter-twine and how to
Prop them up with sticks so that their trunks wouldn't break
As the fruits become too heavy for them to carry on their own.
And although I got upset every Sunday morning in that garden,
I have learned, because of him, how to survive.

He, taught me, by his example, how to truly love a woman,
When he allowed my mother to follow her life-long dream, at 35!
And I never understood it then; I came to resent him for it,
Till I realized the dedication and boldness it took.
This quiet, unassuming man is a giant in my eyes!

He, once bought me a T-shirt that read,
"Anyone can be a father but it takes someone special
to be a Daddy!" I never quite knew what that meant!

-HalfCrazy