Dad

Some people idolize rock stars
Some sports figures
And there are still others that see
movie stars as worthy of
their admiration.

Not me

I have lived long enough to begin
to understand what truly
matters in the consideration of worth
Accolades of the masses
really mean nothing
A real man doesn't look
for such things

Lying in a coma right now,
is my hero
A man that came into my life
when I was two years old
I called him dad until I became a teen
A teen who had no grasp on reality
We did not get along so well
in those days
It was my fault
I carried a lot of misguided
anger towards him

As I grew towards manhood and
started a family of my own,
it all started to make sense
The pressures of raising a family
on a shoe string budget are immense
And happiness sometimes
has a different definition
For him it was security
for his family
And we were always secure
through his sacrifice

All those years of anger towards
him was really anger at myself
I did not measure up
For good reason
He wanted a better life for me
And even though I had given up at times
He never did

I had always said I would never be like him
But every day I see him in myself
Though, I still do not
quite measure up
But I am proud that I again call him dad

by grunty
posted on 10/23/2009