What Would Your Father Say
for father's day
If he could see you now.
Really see you.
Take you entirely in.
As you are now,
in these days, places
of your life.
In the deeper parts
of your self
you’ve since
discovered
and entered.
See you
as the person
you’ve become,
have grown into
since you started out
back in time.
The child
he helped bring forth.
Helped conceive, or raise.
Whatever fathering
he gave you,
actively or passively,
perfectly, or imperfectly.
Who maybe continues
to father or guide you,
quietly, from afar.
What would he say
to you now,
from the heart,
if he was able.
And what
would you say,
to him.
Colin Goedecke
Westerly-by-the-Sea, Rhode Island
18 June 2023
