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My Father's Field and Stream

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For 1391 Poetry Contest sponsored by Brian Strand

I woke up this morning from a dream. On the coffee table, I saw a magazine - my father's Field and Stream, and I remembered how he wanted to take me to a place he went with his own father in an earlier time and space, to nature's rugged, wild Elysian fields, where boys and men could bond, like a page and knight with sword and shield. So, he took me to the mountains, beautiful and free, and I wanted to go there with him, but my imprisoned eyes couldn't see. My father's field and stream, you see, was not a place, but a state of mind, and I could not go there by decree. I was not the kind of boy or man my dad wanted me to be. He didn't know what was obvious to me. Between my mom, my brothers and I, the verdict was decided, "Entirely unfit", they would all decry. I was unworthy, and I was weak, I wasn't one of the Hardy boys, and felt much more like a freak. I wish that I could have joined you, Dad, in those fields and streams, to share together the experience you had, and I am ready to join you in nature's high, but it's too late for us. You're in the Field and Streams of the sky.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 6/19/2025 2:11:00 AM
David, the recess of our mind takes us back in time. It’s never too late to make amends, the blessed day does come, for everyone… Beryl
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David Crandall
Date: 6/19/2025 6:11:00 PM
Thanks Beryl. When my dad passed away over 9 years ago, one of the first things I thought of was that now he was in some hunting ground in the sky, like some kind of Tom Sawyer, catching fish with a straw hat.
Date: 6/18/2025 8:07:00 PM
Whoa. Whoa. and Whoa again. I know exactly what you mean. And it's heartbreaking. Brings back memories I've suppressed for decades with all my might. Powerful for me, David.
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David Crandall
Date: 6/19/2025 6:09:00 PM
Thanks, Gershon. I appreciate that. I had a pretty pleasant relationship with my dad as an adult, but I wish I could've loosened up and enjoyed the childhood times more. My dad had really enjoyed all the hunting and fishing with his dad, and I think he tried to duplicate that.

Book: Reflection on the Important Things