Best Love of All

He was a sad boy, a mad boy.
Glad was not in his repertoire.
His mother left when he was a pup.
He never knew her.
His father was evil personified.
Never a kind word or deed came from that man.
Tongue lashings were not the only lashings the boy received.
He knew the sting of the belt.
His grandparents attempted to know him
But his father kept them back.
Wanting him to be sad, lonely and afraid.
Angry because he resembled his mother.

His mother had been a delicate dainty pretty woman.
She had a light in her that his father had reveled beating out of her.
I know how to raise my boy he used to say to butt-in-ski social workers.
People backed off; he had a reputation for possibly murdering someone.
The boy did not know love until he was raised.

He joined the Air Force, and rose through the ranks.
He was revered and respected and he fell in love.
He raised children whom were never belittled or beaten.
And he never introduced them to his father.
Showing them the best love of all
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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Bauer Avatar
October 21, 2021 at 1:07 PM
I love stories where someone overcomes a sad or worse upbringing and does better by his or her own children. Too often, the bad cycle is repeated. Great poem, Caren!
Hankins Avatar
October 21, 2021 at 9:24 AM
Hmmm...I joined the Air Force when it was no longer viable to live with my father. It made all the difference in my life; one of the best decisions I ever made. When my father would take my children on his knee and talk to them, I remembered that I had never had that experience. It was okay, though.
Krutsinger Avatar
October 21, 2021 at 12:01 PM
I get this in so many ways.
Seeker Avatar
October 21, 2021 at 5:37 AM
Good for him, rising above past trauma, great write, Caren!
Krutsinger Avatar
October 21, 2021 at 12:01 PM
Thank you Unseeking Seeker.
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