Best Fathering Poems
Where on Earth or far beyond do we poets go, you ask.
My thoughts willingly stretch my imagination with this task.
I would reply...in any direction our ink chooses to flow.
To the light of dawn or to dark telltale shadows of Poe
There are no boundaries that could rein in a poet's mind,
even if we have the mournful misfortune of going blind.
A poet is not harnessed by sight like a horse to a carriage.
From memory our vision serves us in a sort of marriage,
a bond without rings and vows that gives us wings to fly
among stars, or to realms a common man cannot descry.
To know sin's sorrow, we would walk through a fiery hell
if it would give us the insight that living could not quell.
Inspiration is our weapon, feathered arrows we shoot,
aiming for the rhyming words and chasing in hot pursuit.
Though our muse flees, and crumbled pages lie at our feet,
our mind struggles in unrest but will not concede defeat.
On ventured missions, traveling where our hearts will lead.
Among distant galaxies, where we collect poetic seed
to plant in fertile delta land or in sandy deserts on Earth,
cultivating cogent lines, to which our scribing gives birth.
Fathering or mothering verses from infancy to fruition.
Editing until at last, our brainchild is worthy of submission.
We see far beyond mundane realities of life and reason.
Writing from the heart, rebuking the penalty of treason.
We wind through mazes of each personal poetic anecdote.
Exposed is our nakedness in each lyrical line we ever wrote.
June 20, 2022
2022 Marathon Mile 4 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Mark Toney.
flames into flames
flesh sizzling flesh
cores consuming cores
pips crinkling into load-shedding
emotions into grains of salt
light across spacetime
heat melting
h e a t
street strength simmering
sweating scalding
sensation has no
crystal drops
rooibos tea faraway
nothing to drink except
our own fluid feuding
hot waves raging roaring
consummating
burning consumables
dissipating veins with
our own veins
burnishing flesh...black dust
past
present
f u t u r e
waves upon waves of
electric light electronic wires
our Light liquidates
iron steel
from infinity
rumbling inferno
black charcoal transmutes
into blackberries
to suck
like nipples nurturing
eradicating fleeing
fumbles
fleecing fear fast
red organs rise
in spirals of voiceless
words fathoming
wrath is
over
or perhaps to come
last few steps of
licking flames orange purple
all is feedback
flammable
surrounded by raven rain
red reducing
red oil
blood blessing blood
in a BloodMoon of vanities
smelling of
vanilla and poppies
waving in war winds
containing OverSouls
overall is overall
forms
fathering
dripping salt
in an unsung faith
unknown spaces seen as Beloved
MOTHERS
Nightly loosing sleep when you screamed,
yet the next day when you smiled, she beamed.
Watching you proudly as you grew,
patiently retrieving objects you threw.
Many times went hungry while you had enough,
’Cause most of the times things were rough.
Sacrificed and sent you to school,
even though sometimes you acted like a fool.
Watching over you when you were sick,
not believing others who thought it was a trick.
Instinctively guiding you to be right,
to restrain yourself and not getting into a fight.
Worried when you were out late,
not knowing that you were with your date.
Defended you in the face of trouble,
also fathering you, acting as double.
Taken for granted repeatedly on mothers’ days,
yet, caring enough to mention you when she prays.
The holders of custom and bearings
The teachers of manners and sayings
The steerers of the leanings and standings
The givers of surnames and blessings
The fabric that makes priests and kings
Are fathers in their fatherhood and fathering
You are both shield and guide
In whom sons and daughters confide
You are both scion and pride
Of the society you are placed to abide
You are both the breadth and stride
Of your kind’s spread; far and wide
Be today celebrated but ever honored
For all you have selflessly offered
Good and faithful service unwaivered
May your steps be Divinely ordered
And likewise armed and armoured
For whatever storm to be weathered
God be present in your sunshine and rain
God give you joy for your pain
May all your toils bring you gain
Scale hills as though traversing plains
And all in all firmly remain
Godly and righteous without stain
HAPPY FATHERS DAY.
K. Muitherero
Never did a fire so fierce
Blow across the land
That same land
His heart did grow
Nourished by his sweat and toil
No more
The morning mist
Will hear his weathered voice
Call his horse
Com'orn
His mark
Has been scorched from its soil
And how that land
Greens, grays
And blacked haze
With gusts of wind
And rumpled hills
The fathering face
Of this dead man
Hidden beneath
A goldfish has a memory of about three seconds
Very much like senior citizens I'd say
They're often seen aimlessly walking the streets
Wearing their dear wife's negligee
A sneeze has been recorded at travelling over
One hundred forty feet per second
Fast enough to knock a buzzard off a poop wagon
An amazing feat without question
During an average person's lifetime, one will eat
About sixty thousand pounds of food
That's the weight of about six full grown elephants
Embarrassing to be seen in the nude
In Tokyo, I'm told they sell toupees for your dog
Come on, that's just downright bizarre
Way back, “pants” was considered a bad word
That's one of the strangest facts by far
Only one person in two billion will live to be
One hundred and sixteen or older
Wonder if these geezers are still sexually active
Does the fire of passion still smoulder
The longest flight of a rooster ever recorded
Was about thirteen seconds they say
Chasing all the pretty hens around the barnyard
Clucking, “ride 'em cowboy, olé!”
Did you know Ramses Condoms were named
After the pharaoh Ramses the Second
This gentleman surely didn't use any such protection
For fathering 160, he's a legend
If you ever find yourself in a crocodile's jaws
Push your thumbs into its eyeballs
The croc will scream and immediately let go
Then run away before you get mauled
© Jack Ellison 2013
p aul, to hear his name reminded one of apostles
a n ordinary man given to extra- ordinary actions
u n dieing in his legacy to children and the needy
l aughter always edged the corners of his eyes
n ewman, what a named revelation, Paul Newman
e nergized by a thirst for the fullest life
w as there ever a more complete man, this legacy
m arried for fifty years to Joan, fathering six children
a nd still one of the best actors the screen has ever seen
n ewman, a man’s man, a woman’s dream and a star.
January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008
Applied Appreciation…
Bold Benevolence…
Concentrated compassion…
Divine discernment…
Enthusiastic energy…
Fantastic fathering…
Godly guidance…
Happy humanity…
Individual illumination…
Jovial journey…
Kindred Kindness…
Luminous love…
Majestic mothering…
Nurtured nestling…
Omnipresent observation…
Prospering population…
Quietly questing…
Releasing resistance…
Shinning souls…
Teaching thanksgiving…
This girl was shy
This girl was introverted
This girl was afraid
This girl felt alone most of the time
A few close friends were her saving grace
This boy was active
This boy was wired
This boy was different
This boy felt alone most of the time
God was his saving grace.
This girl played sports
This girl studied hard
This girl made no enemies
This girl loved to write
The pen was her instrument for expression
This boy was awkward
This boy got by
This boy was involved with his church
This boy loved to be on stage
Acting and debate were his means of expression
This girl had dreams
This girl had hopes
This girl had fears
This girl followed her friends to college
This boy had dreams
This boy had hopes
This boy had fears
This boy followed his father into the military
While this girl was coming out of her shell
This boy was learning survival methods
While this girl was exploring dating
This boy was fathering a baby
While this girl was experiencing her first failure
This boy was trying to stay alive in the Persian Gulf
This girl grew into a well-educated, mature, but very lost woman
This boy grew into a well rounded, divorced, military father
Shortly after they met, this woman and man pledged their love for each other
This woman fell in love with this man’s confidence, humor, and sincerity
This man fell in love with this woman’s beauty, compassion, and wit
This woman and this man vowed to spend the rest of their lives together
This man made promises
This woman believed in him
This man made more promises
This woman began to doubt him
This couple communicated well
This couple shared deep truths
This couple was honest with each other,
but not with themselves
This couple had good intentions
This couple loved their family
This couple lived beyond their means
This couple began to perish
This woman had lost her husband
This man had lost his wife
This couple was determined not to lose their friendship
This couple was focused on the happiness and well being of their children
This couple would not simply “go through the motions”
This couple would be honest with each other and themselves
This couple would work as a team for the first time in their lives
This couple would be happy living apart
This couple would always love each other
gratifying grand PooBah gnashing happily. How envious
eye feel. This generic guy hallucinates (walled within his
lovely bones) incredulously, jealously, knowing lackluster
marriage never ordained plentifully, quintessentially, royally,
satisfying throbbing testosterone undulating vibrantly within
xman yawping zen. Ah know this phallus fantasy tubby
merely a whet pipe dream, yet no logic can extirpate
frenziedly gyrations glum husband images. Just kindling
lasciviousness massages nude oeuvre provoking quaking,
rip-snorting tooling uniting Venus, with xing yummy zone,
absolute beauties, bunnies cozying dear Emir, fathering
Hugh's illustrious joys, keeping libido murmuring, nesting
on papa's queued rocket ship, thrusting uber vintage weasel,
*** y zapping adroitly buoyant consecrated dick, Ernst
found Grafenberg hallelujah, injunction jerking like mad
naturally oiled pussy, quivering red redoubt stimulated
the unavoidable Vagina, whereat xyz attainment brought
******** delight eventually fomenting gusto, heavenly
induced juiced Kung Lee masterfully negotiating ******,
penultimate quest regarding sexual torquing, ululating
vocalization wailing women XCI yogi Zorro
absent, bye Casanova, deemed expert ******** great Hefner,
honorable Hugh invictus, joyousness kept legacy maintained,
now...only phantom quietly rubs shoulders, thighs, ubiquity
vibrant viz World Wide Web.
A true character
Who replenishes all of our needs
That holds us best and picks you up
Even at your weakest moments
So that we do not go hungry
Or sleep unclothed
He who gives us the ability to find strength
When setbacks are apart of life
I was taught to value myself
And the solid lessons in limitations that this journey would bring
He believes the depth in his being
This creation would never be broken
Because an emphasis on fathering would never be absent
I am a creation in the making
To measure up to something
Which he molded me
Until I know all he knows
He is exactly what he is needed to be
A father, who will die to protect
A man with nothing to lose
One with no words
That speaks so much volume
And a smile in trouble
Who gathers strength from distress
To place his family as the most important thing in his life
He is cautious with the actions and decisions
He makes so he won't have to be responsible for their pain
He is all
Verse 1
A movie taught me my calling
fiction brought angels thru cinema
climax's rise by acts falling
confusion's release thru a spiritual enema
Banging sounds can hurt the ear
its music carousing the purpose of pain
composing strength spawned by your fear
loud mad pestering aches essemble the sane
Chorus
Now, my greatest wish is for my best
to be what it takes to really try
for my strongest effort to manifest
life of what holds me back won't die
Verse 2
Now, its very clear what I need to do
but many long pauses formed hesitation
the wavering breeds delay of all new
fathering the burden of action's frustration
annuling growth, thus increasing the wait
patterns discouragement, casting doubt
of my ability to answer my fate
so I get lazy and begin to cop out
Chorus
Now, my greatest wish is for my best
to be what it takes to really try
for my strongest effort to manifest
life of what holds me back won't die
Reprise
I see how you try I know
champions reap what only training will sow
I won't cultivate how I need to grow
I won't prepare my heart for the go
Verse 3
Im lleft to my prayer to be willing
I feel the peace of God as he gives me strength
to activate self with His filling
to live my dreams and survive wait's length
The Marine’s emblem tattooed on his arm,
His wit and humor, part of his charms;
You wouldn’t mistake him for a Renaissance Man,
But when it comes to my poetry he’s my biggest fan.
A single child fathering seven offspring;
Never denying us anything;
Sending us to college, paying the tuition;
Preparing us for life was his mission.
Thank you, Dad, for reading my poems,
And sending me a comment or two:
I guess after 300 the time has come
To write one saying, Dad, I love you.
Some have the right to bear arms
But I appreciate pens rather then commotions,
Homicides, aiding in brawls,
Or in middle class genocides
, car alarms, sirens in the distant horizon
Of my suburban neighborhood
Hearing echoes of shots firing. Some folk’s fiend for resources
I creep and hunger for lines and ink,
Rather than the staggering alcoholic
Begging for free drinks.
Lines can heal hollow insides,
Congested with negativity
I the young chap run to creativity.
I never ran home but rather run to those black and white pages,
Pages that don’t judge my past activity
or the thoughts in my noggin,
Knocking down metaphors calm my soul
I climbed Mount Everest,
I’ve survived marches, hostile riots,
Doors slammed in my face
Which are buried in the red sand in my left hand stapled together with leather
bonding,
Paperclips and rubber bands.
I breathe to write,
the privilege to breathe free oxygen purchased from Senegal and western coastal
castles
I play with canvases and paint like Monet’s pastels
Equivalent to my revelation of secret memories
Stored and lived from three years less than ¼ a century
I could have been a minor in the upper Marlboro penitentiary writing letters to
mamma,
or fathering multiple of multiples of seeds
Caused by the seduction of the cunning black mambas
, but I chose the right to tote a composition book and a few pencils,
I respect the past
but refuse to emulate and imitate
the other writers tracing history
as a toddler colors outside the lines
, or using stencils.
There is a new manuscript that I carry under my arm,
that reminds me that the third times a charm.
Everyday, the thought of death is stuck in my mind,
Through the violence, The poverty,
The racism, the hatred, the war,
The unhappiness, the instability,
The crimes, and the sadness in this world.
Lives torn on the daily,
As I sit, comforted on my chair,
“It’ll resolve itself.
I haven’t even helped… barely”
As I lay asleep, a nightmare with news voices of the situation,
Circled my head like that of a tornado’s rotation,
All talking at the same time,
Of a recent story about an unfortunate death.
“News of the death of Eric Garner, a black man who...”
“The chilling details to the story…”
“Recently, Michael Brown was a victim of a police-related death,
News of Eric Garner, a man fathering 6 children…”
“America, listen up, the white cops have a plan,
To lie, and keep their reputation in dignity.”
Then, I woke up.
Found myself screaming in the hotel room,
Awoken from my sleep, by a vivid nightmare,
“I’ve had enough with this nonsense!
I’m tired of hearing of people suffering,
Of people dying, of death tolls rising,
Of young kids war-fighting,
Of the government lying,
Of the justified conspiracy theories being shut down,
Of.. Not helping... the suffering!”
So I went running... for answers.
Tell the whole world I know it’s too late,
Boys and girls, I’m feeling brain-sick,
Why, oh why, did I have to wait,
Oh well, oh well, It’s all just a gimmick.