He would have put up his father’s picture on his profile,
But it would open up old wounds,
Stir up dead flames.
Mama would call and cry,
Telling in between tears how she misses her husband,
So he didn’t , because Daddy is no more.
He would have accepted the happy father’s day from his daughter
But it would be stale.
He was not present at her naming,
Nor was he there when she started or left school.
He wasn’t the one who led her down the aisle
So he pulled back, he couldn’t take it.
He had not been a father.
Photocredits : TJ Benson
He would have been laughing now,
His kids tattooing every inch of his body.
But it can only be a wish.
Their cries hunt him still.
A suicide bomber in October,
One blast at Eagles square
He lost all three of them,
Their charred bodies not even left to be buried
He was a Father who is no longer a Father.
He would have shared a drink with his son,
Rambling about the women in their lives
But it can only be a pipe dream.
They haven’t spoken in years,
Jimmy is now an artist,
He wanted to be called Papa Doctor,
Hot words flew and Jimmy left home
He ceased being a father,
His son was no longer his son.
This is for all whose Father is no more,
For all who has no one to call them Father
For those with broken relationships with their Fathers
For those mothers who doubled as Fathers
For the Fathers who are Fathers not by birth
You too can Enjoy Father’s Day.
Photocredits : Plusquote.com
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PS : Because I am on the path to becoming a Father and because the bug of Father’s Day still fly around, below are two selected post to celebrate Fatherhood;
4unansweredprayers 
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Inside my head, I stood up and clapped for. This was a lovely, heartwarming read. 🙂
I read it carefully, so that I could absorb the emotions involved in the four different scenarios.
Indeed, there are all sorts of dead fathers- The ones who aren’t alive and the ones who are still alive.
Hmmm… @ “Path to becoming a father”, that statement is pregnant with meaning (pun intended) . Lol
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Fatherhood is something that scares me (I must admit). I love kids, they seem to love me too without reason, yet I am scared of them. Their endless energy and inquisitiveness. The innocence they have that I have lost. The ability to do things without fear, not caring, one minute pissed off the next forgiving. These and many more amazes me about kids. And it’s also what scares me most about Fatherhood.
The thought of been responsible for a human being. Nurturing and teaching, molding yet giving him/her enough freedom. There are so many dysfunctional father/child relationship around. And it’d scary because most mean do not give it that much though. The African ones belive it’s the mothers duty, when things go haywire they throw it at the mother and when it’s all rosy they want to claim the glory.
PS: As scared as I am of being a Father, I still love to be one (biologically). I admire father’s and their sons (yeah, the male thingy) and even though that dream is not achievable immediately, I am on the path to being one. So now is not to early to start being prepared.’ So hopefully the meaning has delivered it’s pregnancy’ (I don’t even know if his is meaningful sef)
PS 2: Did I say thanks for stopping by?
OK, I just did. But anyway, thanks for reading carefully and absorbing the emotions.
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Indeed, it’s not too early to start developing one’s character and mind for the responsibility of nurturing another human being.
Motherhood scares me sometimes too, there are days when I feel like I’m not even taking proper care of my own self.
I guess there are some journeys that we must first embark on and then learn the ropes as we go along.
You are most welcome.
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The first verse captured the feelings I had as a child on father’s day perfectly. This last Sunday was the first time ever that I didnt even feel a thing. It was just any other day to me.
I find myself wanting to share this but for those same reasons you mentioned (i.e having to deal with other people’s emotions), I dont think I can.
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Father’s day is very emotional to me too. I have an awesome relationship with my mom (so this should give an ilkng of what mine is with my dad).
I still remember how/why I wrote this piece. It was Father’s day 2015. I was far from home and was with friends, we started talking about our Fathers. Deep conversations that I am not ready to reveal yet.
More often than not, people who have Fathers do not have empathy for those who don’t. And most times when days that are suppose to bring joy, some spend it soaking their pillows with tears. Because all they can live with is ‘what might have been.’
Stay strong, you are not alone. There are countless others the first verse describe perfectly and others whose situations words cannot describe. And thanks for reading by the way.
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