lament -- or between the devil and the deep blue sea, i'll take the sea anytime

 

 

my father -- whose dreams turned

to ashes in his mouth when he saw

his son could not live those dreams --

would not live those dreams --

my father -- who lived to do

the right thing -- who told no lies --

 

my father -- I am grateful

you are not here to bear this

heartbreak, this sorrow and the searing anger

that accompanies it.

 

when do we decide -- and how do we decide

that our time is wasted on those

so lost in selfishness and strife?

never an easy decision.

but one that must be made.

 

don’t hate me, dad, because

I may consign him to the devil

and concentrate on those who can be rescued.

Reviews

[Liban Jibril]

Powerful...It's emotional, passionate, and never overly descriptive- something I personally dislike about many a poem. I love the subject too. I can't see any flaws in terms of structure or mundane stuff like that, obviously-I just wonder if the poem may have gained strength if you had tried to sort of finish where you started, in some sense? Maybe introducing a closing element on your father's dreams- and in so doing, return the focus to your reasons for writing the poem in the first place? I don't know if it would help, or if perhaps you wanted the poem to progress in subject as it did? Up to you- but an excellent poem either way.

[annie lee]

Thanks for your insight. It is a good point to consider.