LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

a personal experience

"Old man
Look at my life
I'm alot like you were..."
NEIL YOUNG

Dreams unfulfilled
Aspirations extinguished
A promise of talent, wasted
I am now older than you ever were
I have failed even more so
Loveless
Childless
The last of my family's name
Lost in wilderness

I wonder when I was born
Did you want me to take a different path than yours?
Was I suppose to take giant leaps forward in life rather than small steps?
I wonder what your face of disappointment looks like
Do you shed tears of pity for your only son?

It has been a struggle for me since you've been gone
On occasion, I can hear your voice calling out for me to join you from somewhere, someplace beyond this world
But maybe there's more to this life I have yet to see
Maybe...

All the past wounds have healed and I hope someday, somehow we'll meet each other again
But not yet...
Not yet...

Author's Note

The relationship with my father is what could have been or what should have been. Every year that passes I lose another piece of him out of my life

Reviews

[Eve]

I have to say this really took a route I wasn't expecting when I first read the title. I like that though, it's different. With that, I would like to point out the raw emotion in this piece. When I read it I could really feel the pain you feel when you think about your father, and how you feel you've disappointed him. I can emphasize on that aspect, since I seem to only be able to disappoint my own father. Reading this, I also gain some sort of gratitude that my father is still with me, and I still have the chance to make things better. In a way you are really inspiring, but through telling us the pain you go through yourself. This creates a sense of reality, that you've gone through your own hardships, and you're not pretending that the world is perfect and we should just suck it up. Reading this poem gives readers hundreds of emotions flooding their system all at once. I also like how you neutralize this image for your father that you've created. I mean it's clear that you didn't have a very tight relationship with your father, but you still love him. You show your readers that you do have regrets about you dealt with your problems with your father, but you weren't the only one to blame. I really relate to you and get a lot out of this just one piece about you. This poem is really human, I suppose you could say.

[Diane]

Wow. That isn't what I expected but great writing.

[Mrudula Rani]

As we grow old we seem to be asking our parents more questions than before... even though they are not here, we still treasure their opinions and approvals.

[Gee]

At least you had one to lose. Mine did a runner when we were but toddlers with arses the size of shirt buttons. His premature death was met with a group shrug, as if being told a stranger had kicked the bucket.
The upside of this is I have had no role model for a father so have been to my daughter the one I'd of liked if he had hung around.
Enjoyed the read KC

[sette]

from reading the first line i know how you feel, believe it or not no parent does not wish the best for his child. the road to healing is another matter, i know that inspite the hurts and pains there are still good and happy memories cherished and perhaps in one way or another it can help with healing of your heart.