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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Father (as in paternal parent, not God) (04/10/08)
I remember Him when I was small.

Me so scrawny, Him, so tall.
Since I can only reach His knee
I’ll wait for Him to pick up Me

so I can hug His neck..

I knew that He could do no wrong.

He is My daddy soft and strong.
And should a lion come silently
He will surely rescue me

so I will hug His neck.

Such silly games with me he’d play.

I’m caught in His bear-trap every day.
Tickle me this, tickle me that,
then turn into a pussycat

so I can hug His neck

He’d sing a song about a funny tree.

a bird -
with- a - feather
on -a- wing
on- a -flea

it grows in- a -hole- in- the- ground.

There wasn’t much money, but I wasn’t aware
'cause He’d bring me surprises with the pennies to spare.

I love that tree-
in-the-hole-
in-the-ground.


I was so very proud of all He could do.

I want forever to dance on His shoes.
I burst with joy at belonging to Him.

But suddenly, I grew from limb to limb ...right out of that
tree-in-the-hole-in-the-ground.

I’ll play no more childish games
I wish to be pretty with movie-star fame.

There’s not much else I seem to do well
so I’ll dream of the stage where I will excel.

At twelve, I was not pretty at all, certain for sure that no boy would call.

I’ll wait for the days when I will have dates
and I’ll never, ever come in late ...
So He will be proud of me.

My world at fifteen became Myself.

I’ll put Him neatly up on a shelf
and since now I know all
there is to know
I won’t need Him to help Me grow ...

He can’t tell Me a Thing.

Four long years I just wouldn’t see.

I don’t know Him and
He doesn’t know ME.
I want My life to be My own way

It doesn’t matter,
He has no right to say ...

I won’t let Him tell Me a Thing.

And then one day I realized.

This world isn’t quite real
through just My own eyes.
I’ll take Him neatly down from the shelf.
I’ll go to Him, alone by Myself ...

I’ll ask Him to tell Me a Thing.

Though He didn’t know, I heard all He would say and I sifted, sorted, made decisions that way. I know they weren’t all He hoped they would be.

I’ll make them the best I can ... for Me.
I’m glad that He told me a Thing.

The day finally came, My dress was white. Through the darkened church flooded candlelight.

He stands just as tall as He has all my life,
but, oh, His hands tremble when he
whispers to Me that I’ll be a fine wife and

He is so proud of Me.


He gave Me away. I’ll always remember how I looked back at him when we left that September; and though I knew all was good and right ... I secretly shed some tears that night.

I miss that
tree-in-
the-hole-
in-the-ground.

Nineteen years I lived in His home. Today I live in a home of My own.
The seeds He gave Me ... in My children I’ve sown. They’re watered,

now flowered

now grown.

When Father’s Day comes each year, I sit by my window wishing Him near.
Sometimes the Child still cries at night but Daddy’s not there to turn on the light

and I wish I could hug His neck.
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This article has been read 1431 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Sheri Gordon
04/17/08
I really like the varied format of this. Very unique.

My favorite part, as I read with tears in my eyes, is from when she turns 15 until she later realizes that her dad did, indeed, have wisdom to impart. Those few stanzas are a perfect description of life with a teenager.

Very good job with the topic.
Lynda Schultz 
04/18/08
Beautiful. The form takes a little adjusting to, but that's part of what makes this more than just "ho-hum."
Jan Ackerson
04/19/08
Oh, lovely, lovely! I love the rhythm and swell of this, the crescendo and climax. So precious, and I suspect that few gals will be able to read this without a lump forming in the throat. *gulp*
Laury Hubrich 
04/20/08
Nice job. Very nice. Very different. Good work!
Shirley McClay
04/21/08
I know nothing about verse so I won't comment there.. but I really enjoyed the unusually way this was written.. very creative and very sweet.
Sharlyn Guthrie
04/22/08
You are blessed to have such wonderful memories tied to your father. Thanks for sharing them in such a lovely way.
Joanne Sher 
04/22/08
Just lovely. Definitely got me choked up - love the repetition. Marvelously done.
Dee Yoder
04/23/08
Wonderful memories of a relationship all girls should have with their dads. Really beautiful.
Joshua Janoski
04/23/08
I noticed that I could read the bold lines by themselves, and they alone formed their own story, but then I added in the rest of the lines, and it made the story that much more detailed. Very cool format!

I am not a poet, but I appreciate those who can write great poetry, and this is one of those great poems! Thank you so much for sharing. :)
Betty Castleberry
04/23/08
This is so sweet and tender. You've captured the father-daughter relationship wonderfully in this poem, showing the progression of feelings a daughter usually has. I like this a lot.
Loren T. Lowery
04/23/08
Three words come to mind reading this, tender, enduring and sweet. As I was reading it, too, it reminded me of something Mark Twain once said of his dad. It went something like this, "when I was 18 I couldn't believe how dumb my father was; and, when I reached 20 I couldn't believe how much he had learned in two short years."
Debbie Wistrom
04/23/08
So fresh and telling, there is much here to consider. Thanks for giving this to us.
Sara Harricharan
04/24/08
Leigh, this is precious! It is so bittersweet, and heartfelt at the same time. I loved the imagery you painted with the silly song and especially how you used the lines in bold. That made them stand out and this flowed so very well. ^_^ I'm glad I didn't miss this-it was great!
LaNaye Perkins
04/24/08
I loved the varied format of this too. My favorite part was:
When Father’s Day comes each year, I sit by my window wishing Him near.
Sometimes the Child still cries at night but Daddy’s not there to turn on the light

and I wish I could hug His neck.

That part made me cry. It reminded me of how I feel about my own dad.