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So much love, so rare!
How strong your hand and so close by,
if my small hand reached up, unsure!
Just your finger
steadied my steps
... with so much strength to spare.
How kind your eyes watching me grow,
as my young years flew by, so fast!
Just your warm glance
inspired me on
— how much of life we shared!
How sparkling your electric mind,
when clouds blocked my blue horizon!
Your rainbow words
lit each new path
... with so much constant care.
How sure your trust in all I do —
it has carried me so far!
Just your bright smile
refreshed my soul
... with faith beyond compare.
How precious your loving heart,
as each day dawned, so new!
Thoughts of you
make my heart dance
... with so much love, so rare!
© martha jane adams, august, 1996
I wrote this poem as a Father's Day gift for my Dad in 1996. Little did I know at the time, he would have a heart attack two weeks later, then a stroke a few days days after that, and die of complications in just a few weeks. I read this poem at his memorial service, and it still speaks volumes to me of the precious times we had together. God bless you, Dad — and God bless all the Dads out there!
As part of my observance of fathers everywhere, I want to share the following excerpt of a special Father's Day column from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It, too, has a special message for all of us.
I want to mark this 100th Father's Day by setting a few extra places at the welcome table. To acknowledge and celebrate fathers in their infinite variety: living or dead, heroes and villains, in triumph or failure.
So Happy Father's Day ...
... To men surrounded by young children, blessed by good health and enough fortune, able to father as well or better than you were fathered.
... To fathers of young men or women who stand apart, outcast, alone, withdrawn, frail, ill, handicapped or with needs that you doubt you can ever fully meet.
... To men of physical strength, contagious joy, quiet humility, personal discipline, or deep connection to spirit, aware of how children, your own and others, want to model those qualities.
... To fathers whose daughters or sons stand in harm's way, on battlefields, or streets marked by violence and family brokenness.
... To gay men who overcome great obstacles and ignorance to claim your rights and gifts as fathers.
... To expectant fathers, surrounded by mentors and love, or faced with scarcely a single model of what it means to be a good man or a good parent.
... To men who long to be fathers, or seek an outlet to direct that purpose, considering adoption or otherwise challenging the culture's assumptions about a man's ability to parent fully.
... To men in failed marriages, faced with single fatherhood, overwhelmed by uncertainty.
... To fathers fallen into a stony silence or gone underground, whose children have forgotten you, or will not yet forgive you.
... To fathers on autopilot, moving too long or too fast in a groove of work, or drink or other compulsions, too busy to really notice your children.
... To absent fathers, torn from your children by divorce, mistakes, deep shame or rancid indifference.
... To dying fathers, aware of the work not yet done with your children, yet faithful that your love in them will endure.
— By R. Todd Erkel, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 15, 2008
