perfect creases

perfect creases

 

 

dads and discipline

belts and welts

and love

 

harsh straps 

arms wrapped

in fatherly embrace

 

he is a conundrum

the tough guy

mom's lover

 

the tie at Christmas

the smile at the same pattern

as last year

 

in the spring

line in the water

finger holding it in place

lightly

catching a few winks

until the reel races

 

intensity as the movie nears the end

the vase sits lonely at the next table

he comments

 

I move it near him,

he grumbles

maybe he felt like a rose

that never quite opened up

 

so much he kept to himself

for the sake of letting others 

unwrap the gift of life

 

he never let on,

never needed to

until that vase broke

and he knew his roses

had bloomed their last.

 

 

erin-cilberto

3/7/23

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

"so much he kept to himself

for the sake of letting others

unwrap the gift of life"

[Sami Khalil]

If heaven is under the feet of mothers, the salt mines are under the feet of fathers. A very sad poem: I feel the writer loved his dad, albeit a harsh one, but needs closure, need some answers. Very touching and appreciative to their sacrifices. I don't think "like father, like son" applies to our poet.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Sami.
harsh exterior...heart of gold.
j.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! You are welcome sir Jacob.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I never thought getting hit with a belt was an indication that my dad didn't love me. It was an indication of his disapproval. Mother used a hickory switch. If you've ever had one of those on your bare legs, you might just consider the belt an easy go. But I had great parents and a wonderful childhood. I learned not to push the envelope too far and the art of diplomacy. My parents had a thing of if I asked permission of one they would send me to the other. After awhile I caught on and began my requests with "mom said it's okay with her if it's okay with you" or dad said it's okay...and then go ask permission from the other. It worked more often than not and I don't think they ever caught on. If they did, they never complained. I got parental approval from both parents but it was a generally surreptitious negotiation.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

ah yes, the art of diplomacy...and shame on you for that surreptitious negotiation...but it did work.
j.

[Lydia Shutter]

Heartbreaking poetry, Jacob, but I am so happy you are back on WC! Our father's generation believed real men did not cry or show emotion. They were often the disciplinarians of the family. "Wait till your father gets home" is a sentence so many heard back then. Still, his "roses" remember....and so his memory lives on. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, "wait till your father gets home"---
that worked.
thank you, Lydi
j.

[andrew mitchell]

Those were the days when man bottled up his feelings and died doing so. Because when they were sick they didn’t go to the Doctor but toughened it out until it was too late. Discipline was a power thing to demonstrate who rules in the family and was a generation hand me down until now where hitting a child is a no no.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

sure is different these days from when we were kids...not so sure that is a good thing.
thanks, andrew,
j.

[willweb]

I have been told that I keep everything inside, I don't share much, I am secretive but the way I see it, my problems are my problems. Maybe that is just the way some of us are wired. I feel my job is to keep everyone else safe and happy and that is what makes me happy. So, I guess what I am getting at is I can relate to this and understand and now I wonder, will I cry out when the end comes.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I am much like you, will...don't want to bother others with my problems but feel quite comfortable taking on theirs...
maybe it is a need to feel needed.
j.

[willweb]

You know, I think you re exactly correct.

[AYVID N]

Men keep so much to themselves. Yet being human, repressed feelings often manifest themselves as harshness. How tough it is to be a scaffold, come rain, storm or shine. The concluding lines are heartbreaking beautiful.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, divya,
j.

[Lorry]

When men were breadwinners and disciplinarian who kids never really got to have much of an understanding of, because it wasn't the done thing to talk about emotions or understanding.
Luckily for me, the threat of "wait 'til your father gets home" was enough for me to reassess my ways and change them sharpish.
A look from him was enough to show his disappointment, thankfully, but others weren't so lucky.
I do wonder what that generation would make of today's. I think it would be summed up with a look too.
My how the world changes.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, it sure does.
Thank you, Lorry,
j.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Sounds like a eulogy for a father back in the day when men weren't allowed to cry. Nice one, Jacob.

Winston

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Winston,
j..