Days That I Have Known

Tatertot

The days of life are winding down

as I but fear what lies ahead

My son has reached that time in life

that always filled my mind with dread

There's just a year until that day

when I just hope that I may grow

To be the man, I pray I can

as the time comes to let him go

This week we go on vacation

and as we share these times of  joy

Within the bonds of family

he'll spend his last days as a boy

I've done what I set out to do

back so many a year ago

 Instilling in him foundations

of all the things he needs to know

Oh please just let me be gracious

and smile when the day draws near

Then wish him well, as time will tell

if I can overcome my fear

For then my son will be a man

with strength to face the new found dawn

In knowledge that he's not alone

as my heart breaks for all that's gone

Author's Note

I knew this this day would come. It is so near I can taste it. I will walk out to see him off with a smile upon my face. Give him the speech I like to call "what it means to be a man". Tell him to trust his instincts. Never take something for nothing. Never take unfair advantage of another nor let them take unfair advantage of him. Help those who need it and respect all the women in his life. "Son the value of a man lies not in what he owns, but in what he gives to others". Then I'll wave as he sets off, as my heart simply breaks.

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

Warmth and tenderness wash over me in waves as I read this moving piece penned straight from your heart. The values you ask of your son as he sets sail on the winds of life are embedded in his DNA, for he is your son and has learned by watching you embody those values. It will take practice, like riding a bike for the first time takes practice and little bit of blood, but his foundation is strong. May his compass always guide him to a true north, so that he always knows where home is, the place he can always return to, and be fully embraced. Yes, your heart will break, it will never be the same again, but the wonders of watching him live out his life are well worth the pain.

[Tate Morgan]

I thank you very much I am trying my best

[David O Whalen (O Haol..]

Tate you seem too young to write with such depth of feeling and to be able to express it so poetically.
We need more writers like you who write beyond their years. A great write!

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you David

[AmandaN]

My boy Is about to start school at 5 years old.
As usual I feel so strongly though your poetry
Time flies.
This is a gift
.Thank you .

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I am so missing those days

[SteveB]

Well done. I think you read this a while ago on WPOM and all I could think of was the year before when I sen tmy daughter off to college.
I really like the way you can be so expressive without ever crossing the line and overdoing it. This is a sweet and tender read.

[Tate Morgan]

thank you very much i still can hardly believe it is coming to an end

[Melobldnfr]

Awe, Tate. This is so beautiful, I am speechless and in tears. Xo.

[Tate Morgan]

thank you It brought me tears as well.

[s y e]

We all have memories that no one can take away from us, memories we hold dear and memories that we sometimes wish would leave us alone, as they come back now and again to haunt us. This is a great write, a lovely write. It's hard when your kids leave, you want to keep them at home, and keep them from harms way but as we grow older, you realise that we have to learn from our mistakes. A good write, Tate.

~ Noodle.

[Ezekiel Silver]

An astonishing poem with clear expressions of love!

[LL]

Nice poem my friend. We truly do have our memories that none can take away.

[Tate Morgan]

Thanks Levi I see this as nothing but the laments of a loving father. We all have these times and we all suffer for them.It is in the vain hope that I get a grandchild to play with.

[Constance Payne]

OH my, this touches so close to my heart as I have set two sons free to be the men they were each meant to become. Tears and a smile have come with this. I wish you peace filled blessings in all that your son does in his life and may he always look to you in times of self questions knowing that your lessons have made him strong.

[Tate Morgan]

Constance thank you That is my hope as well.I hope I have done well by him...

[N!LoC]

ok i am having a blonde bimbo moment.... what "day" are u talking about? the day he gets married?? goes off to college?? take his right of passage on a walkabout ??

[Tate Morgan]

I am talking about the day he leaves home to go to college

[john alan willox]

is that the same speech Robert Duvall gave in "Secondhand Lions" ? "What every boy needs to know" ?

[Tate Morgan]

I doubt it because in that movie they never told us what he said .

[john alan willox]

just wondered - sounded familiar

[Tate Morgan]

i remember that movie but he went off to the car and we never got to hear what he said to them.

[john alan willox]

I guess I''m just thinking of Michael Cain's description - no worries.