Open Link Night- “Poem For My Father”
As a downtown New Yorker, I’ve been pretty taken up by the happenings at Zuccotti Park today, so it feels strange to post the very different poem I’d planned for dVerse Poets Pub open link night. But life is complex, lived in lots of layers at once. The iPad painting (above) doesn’t exactly go with the poem, but all I could think of. I am also posting this for Poet’s Rally at Promising Poets.
Poem for my father
My father, who loves me completely,
is weakening.
My father, who loves me through and through,
cannot sit up on his own.
My dad, who would do anything for me,
cannot make his throat swallow.
I say to him,
“you have to try,” and he does, but
his body is not
all heart.
What will I do
when not loved
through and through? Hurts
thinking of it, hurts
completely, my body all heart
in a throat that can’t swallow.
Tags: iPad art, ManicDDaily poetry, poem about father, poem about loss of parent, swallows painting
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
ManicDDaily 
November 15, 2011 at 2:39 pm
first the emotions of this hurt having watched my MILs final days this is a reality that is very vivid for me…i like the hearkening back to unable to swallow, sharing in your fathers from above…
November 15, 2011 at 2:44 pm
So sorry to hear of your mother-in-law. It is painful.
November 15, 2011 at 3:17 pm
You make me so sad…someday this will be my present, dad will grow old, and he is my everything. I wonder what will life be if he is not around…the very thought scares me, pains me so much.
November 15, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Ouch. Well said. It’s appalling to see the simple functions we take utterly for granted begin to fail. I’m impressed at a language level by how you mirror his literal inability to swallow in your broader metaphor.
November 15, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Truly emotional verse, capturing a reality we all have to face, been there.
November 15, 2011 at 3:49 pm
You express the unfortunate reality so well.
November 15, 2011 at 4:48 pm
You express the pain of that situation so well. Beautiful words.
November 15, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Oops, here’s my poem for Open Link Night: <a href="http://dversepoets.com/2011/11/15/open-link-night-week-18/"Turn Up the Tomfoolery.
November 15, 2011 at 5:26 pm
short and sweet? Beautiful.
what a good poem to have done on the fly.
November 15, 2011 at 5:29 pm
this is a raw and beautiful poem for your dad..you capture the emotions, the pain and sadness some of us can identify with..it’s hard to see them get weak when they once used to carry us..much strength to you..
November 15, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Ka very touching. 🙂
November 15, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Beautiful, touching and ends each word the reader feels the growing ache and pain of watching a love one growing weak. As a love one suffers, we too suffer in parallel.
November 15, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Beautiful poem! It is painful to think of your parents failing and not being here. You express it so well.
November 15, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I hope you’ll know that you *were* loved through and through, something many will never know. I don’t know if that’s ever enough, but maybe its something. Fine poem that teared me up thinking of what is being lost here, and I don’t even have a father.
November 15, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Some poems demand to be written baldly, the facts needing no embellishment. This is beautiful – and I don’t mean to suggest it isn’t crafted.
My father shorty before death couldn’t swallow.
What you will have left is your love for him. Then, after time, you will find that his great love for you still sustains you.
November 15, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Sorry to hear. A sad, yet real poem, truly touching upon the intricacy of aging, and meaning. My favorite part has to be your encouraging words, which then seem to inspire result. Very touching piece, thanks for sharing
November 15, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Sensitive…It is so hard to watch our parents aging.
November 15, 2011 at 8:36 pm
This is sad. I lost my dad three years ago and he loved me fiercely, the way your dad loves you. My thoughts are with you and I wish things get better for your dad.
November 15, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Thanks to all for your very kind and thoughtful comments.
November 15, 2011 at 10:04 pm
There is nothing worse than to watch those we love, and are loved by in turn, in pain. Simple, effective piece, driving into the heart of the matter.
November 16, 2011 at 12:41 am
Extremely moving– a light touch but so powerful. xxxxj http://parolavivace.blogspot.com
November 16, 2011 at 5:12 am
I could relate to this so much… my father suffered for almost 8 years before he died of Parkinson’s disease…
Your lines …
‘I say to him,
“you have to try,” and he does, but
his body is not
all heart.’
… touched me deeply…
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/11/whispers-where-you-will-go.html
November 16, 2011 at 10:16 am
I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t cry today….looks like that’s toast! Heart wrenching share here…thank you for sharing it with us!
November 16, 2011 at 12:46 pm
This is sweet.
😉
November 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Very moving of emotions.
November 16, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Love the painting. Now I want an iPad. 😦 As to the poem, it is painful and beautiful. I lost my father to a heart attack,one fell swoop. I cannot imagine what it is like to watch the one you love disintegrate. The parallelism at the ends of the two stanzas is perfect. I love (and hate) those lines “but/his body is not/all heart.”
November 16, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Dear Yosei, I really do love painting on the iPad. It is, of course, not like drawing and painting by hand, and I miss that sensitivity. But it is so handy if you do not have a studio set up–as I don’t–and it also allows for all kinds of effects and (okay, I’ll admit it) short cuts that you can’t do by hand. It is hard to be quite as dextrous as with a pencil (though I do use a stylus), but you get the hang of it and it is a great deal of fun. Also there are these great photo apps that you can use to adjust your painting. The main apps I use are Brushes (for the paintings) and Photogene. Mostly I just use Photogene to rotate the painting or crop it, but it does have great filters for special effects. I almost used one for the swallows, but thought, finally, I’d just stick to painting on its own without the filters. K.
November 16, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Sounds great! I mess around on my phone with a few apps, but the touch there is a bit like the proverbial bull in the china shop. Now it’s even more important for me to get a decent job, lol.
November 16, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Hi, it’s me. back again for Poetry Palace week 56…
I still like this poem, a piece on thinking about loss and predicting the pain.
I miss the so many that have gone, every day…this piece brings out that poignancy. the speaker knows it’s coming and doesn’t want it to come.
good job.
November 16, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Very tough to read. Watching someone in their waning years is not fun. Nicely written.
November 16, 2011 at 7:08 pm
That’s so sad. Brought back memories of my dad in his last hours. I miss him heaps and think of him every day. Somehow we always find the strength to go on and love never dies. I know my dad watches and loves from above.
This really touched my soul and brought tears to my eyes.
November 17, 2011 at 3:10 am
Oh that was magnificent and so sad. I went through this very thing with my beloved father who couldn’t swallow. Your poem brought tears to my eyes.
November 17, 2011 at 4:57 am
I feel for you with this one, manicddaily.
I think the iPad painting still goes with your poem – you and your father.
November 17, 2011 at 10:13 am
touching poem of love for your dad:) thanks for sharing
November 17, 2011 at 11:00 am
hey its very touching…
November 17, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Great! Those last couple lines are a powerful punch to end on. Like it!
November 17, 2011 at 4:08 pm
wonderful poem. I tell my children “don’t you fret, I will always be here, so keep your nose clean, my love for you will never disappear.” I think they believe me 🙂
November 18, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Karin, this just makes my heart ache. It is so hard to see the diminishment of parents, the ones who really do love us unconditionally. There is a poem I wrote about my father, too. This reminds me a bit of it. Thoughts are with you.
November 18, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Thanks so much, Victoria.
November 18, 2011 at 5:20 pm
You capture the emotions sharply and express the anguish well. I remember not being much use in my father’s last times and finding it so hard to be there and not being able to do anything. Stay strong
November 18, 2011 at 6:23 pm
The pain in this poem is brutal…emotions laid bare to witness. Powerful.
Cheers,
Mark Butkus
November 19, 2011 at 2:27 am
This poem is so meaning. I can feel the hurt. In life you will always be loved through and through just some times by someone new… Keep your faith angel
November 19, 2011 at 7:11 am
Thanks so much.
November 22, 2011 at 2:05 am
Thorough and sad. I can feel the pain and the depth of loneliness and helplessness around.
November 22, 2011 at 7:45 am
Very touching