MEMORIES OF MY DAD
Years ago, when I was small,
how I longed to hear it all
All the tales of long ago...well,
10 or 15 years or so....
For those times, then, I could not conceive,
what a memory you had, hard to believe...
For, in my young world, times were far away,
if they had happened before yesterday!
But now, with grandchildren of my own,
both babes of mine have long since grown -
I tell them tales of long ago,
just a mere sixty years or so.
I tell them tales of what our family did,
way back then, when I was just a kid
Of living beside a great big lake,
with fish and crabs that we could take....
Tales of climbing high up in a tree,
to read, or sometimes, just to see
To watch the people of our town,
Mrs. Mackenzie, maybe Mrs. Brown.
Under the tankstand - a land of dreams,
with a dressup box, clothes worn to the seams...
The violets, dahlias, nasturtiums, that our Mum grew...
piles of wood, mostly chopped by you....
When they are older, there'll be lots more to share,
of a family always taught to care
of how friends and family are all that matter,
how there's nothing wrong with a darn good chatter
They'll learn of all we love, both near and far;
how, in a loving family, there's no shining star.
Rather, they'll have learnt, from their Great Grandad,
what a wonderful life there is to be had...
For you've set an example, we're proud to follow;
a promise made will never be hollow...
They'll learn about honesty, about being kind;
they'll always help others, and never mind.
For this is what you have taught all of us,
just get on with life, no need to fuss...
Work hard to make your dreams come true...
for if it is to be, it is up to you.
Dad, my pride in you is there for all to see,
we had a special relationship, you and me
I remember trying, as hard as I might,
to match your long strides, and keep you in sight.
I remember your hugs, warm and strong…
safe in your arms, nothing could go wrong.
But what matters most is you did always care
and that for all of us, you were always there.
With much love and gratitude,
Chris
©crissouli October 2014
