Remembering…

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It seems to me as I grow Old
I remember things that I was told
years ago when I was young
things Fathers say to a son.

Most of them are in my mind
thoughts remembered of all kinds
about girls and guns and football games
and growing up and carrying his name.

Hunting tips and fishing lures
what to take the best of cures
for drinking too much and feeling the pain
that happens when you lose the game.

Words of wisdom of the kind
to help get past a difficult time
that being old and knowing so well
things that only time can tell.

Did I listen to my Dad
as he passed along what words he had
to help me as I grew old
knowing that I couldn’t be told.

Probably some words got through
saving me from mistakes anew
but others forgotten at the time
and the consequences were all mine.

When I look back at what he said
and think of the life that I lived instead
with things my way without a thought
of the things that He had taught.

One bad thing with being young
is we knew it all when we had fun
even though we heard the word
to us they sounded so absurd.

Now I am old and time passed by
I think of the words he did cry
and now understand just how wise
for he was not telling me lies.

If I had only been as smart
to listen and heed with my heart
life would have been a much simpler task
for those whose lives touched mine in the past.

My Dad is long gone from this life
away from the trials and the strife
but I remember the things he told
although too late for I’m much too old.

19 thoughts on “Remembering…

  1. Love that picture. It takes me back to when I was young. Although you have a “few” years on me, I am also getting old. I remember a few things my father taught me when he was home, which was not often. Now I try to teach my son and I realize that he listens very much the same way I did when I was his age…:)

  2. That photo makes me recall the walks I took with the woman that lived next door to my grandma. There was a long lane that went back into the woods and at the end of the lane it curved back into the trees and down a hill. At the end there was a field of black eyed susans.. I am 40 and I remember this vividly from when I was 4-5 years old.

  3. I have enjoyed reading this. I empathise fully with the sentiments you have expressed. These days I listen to some of the anecdotes my children tell their children about their childhood and I often say they should write a book entitled “Growing up with Father” … it is amazing what detail they remember that we have long forgotten!

    • It amazes me that I can remember stuff from my very young childhood but sometimes can hardly remember my own name and I often have to resort to retracing my steps to prompt my immediate memory loss syndrome. Thanks for commenting.

  4. My Dad is long gone from this life away from the trials and the strife
    but I remember the things he told although too late for I’m much too old.
    I do not believe that anyone is too old, tired, worn beyond repair; but the mind and heart remembers. We are ageless…we think, we write, we wait for the next wonderful thing that will come into our lives. You have written a beautiful poem, a tribute. Have a great week and keep remembering.

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