Tuesday, June 18, 2013


Papi

Some would say you were absent,
but to me you were always there,
in my mind,
a ghostly dream
comprised of tiny puzzle pieces
from stories told
by elders' interpretations,
perceptions of you.

I wonder if you thought of me too.
Your blood donated
or taken?
from you while distracted
by the tune of a distant
drum playing a dead beat,
luring you towards flat,
lethal pounding
that you mistook
for the sound of hope.
It made you live asleep.

I never knew your life,
just heard of your death.
Now I'm free
to love or hate you,
to forget you
to recreate you
to expose you to my comprehension
so I can even forgive you
because intentions matter,
because I choose to "know"
you never really meant to go.


(Submitted to Dverse Poets.)



Papi means Daddy in Spanish.  I started this on Father's Day but couldn't finish.  There's so much more I could write but maybe just for myself.  What a mark parents leave on their children regardless of their presence or absence.

Hope all you wonderful Dads had a great Father's Day.








16 comments:

  1. this is very moving myrna...and it's true...parents leave their mark even if they're not there or not much there.. we say papi as well over here in germany...

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  2. What a soft intro winding its way down to the conclusion. Really liked the movement to it.>KB

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  3. I agree on the presence or absence shaping our views about fathers and fatherhood ~ We would not be able to appreciate them before but now as grown up, we can choose to know them better and see the best of them in us ~ Happy week Myrna ~

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  4. I agree on the presence or absence shaping our views about fathers and fatherhood ~ We would not be able to appreciate them before but now as grown up, we can choose to know them better and see the best of them in us ~ Happy week Myrna ~

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  5. our parents do leave a mark even in their absence...you are right though that we do get to choose how we interpret it...there is hard fought wisdom in that...which is not always easy to do....emotional piece myrna...

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  6. What a touching poem... we are definitely are product of our parents... Keep writing, if only for yourself....

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  7. Touching and so heartfelt. I am sorry. Our parents leave a huge mark on us even in their absence.

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  8. .. free to recreate you Powerful words. I think some recreate memories of living parents as well...

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  9. That was a beautiful tribute.

    ......dhole

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  10. Myrna, this is a really powerful, emotionally rich and challenging poem.

    I especially liked this part:

    Now I'm free
    to love or hate you,
    to forget you
    to recreate you


    We all have that power over our memories,mover other people and over ourselves; what matters is what we choose to use that power for.

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  11. One cries silently without tears when thinking of parents when they had already passed on! Why didn't I spend time with them? A question that lingers on with regret! Nicely Myrna!

    Hank

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  12. Amazing poem, such poems are falling in the memory:) Greetings

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  13. Wow! A beautifully written and wonderful tribute. Very nice!

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  14. ...ah, i felt this Myrna... i felt this... the sadness & longing here is palpable & the way you ended this piece blew me away... a very special one the world can genuinely relate... excellent! smiles...

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  15. Sharing your depths. Thanks, M




    Aloha

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  16. such a sweet end, and it rings true insofar as you appear to have done the work to shake a little magic out of your findings and just know, you know? just my impressions. it's a lovely piece.

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