For A Father

Mr. John Clarke is a genius. If you do not know who he is click here. He read a poem on ABC National Radio on February 14, 2012 called For A Father by Anthony Cronin. I recommend that you listen to Mr. John Clarke read it aloud because of the way he describes it and so forth, but I have conveniently copy and pasted it here for you to read for yourself.

With the exact length and pace of his father’s stride
The son walks,
Echoes and intonations of his father’s speech
Are heard when he talks.

Once when the table was tall and the chair a wood
He absorbed his father’s smile
And carefully copied the way that he stood.

He grew into exile slowly
With pride and remorse,
In some way better than his begetters,
In others worse.

And now having chosen, with strangers,
Half glad of his choice
He smiles with his father’s hesitant smile
And speaks with his voice.

This is probably my favorite father poem, but I do not read much poetry.