Father's Day
By Anna Alexander

My father died when I was twenty-one
More years ago than I care to remember
Still the woman I am today is who
She is because of what he stood for. 

Tolerance I learned from him
Never to judge someone by skin
Color or ethnic background
Or any of a hundred things
We use as criteria to determine
Who we choose for friends  

We had a comfortable living
Earned by his efforts and desire
To give us the best he could.
Yet it was what he gave us
On quiet summer evenings
Sitting on the green-vined porch
The soft answers to our questions
The condemnation for anything
Mean or hurtful
The gruff, loving care he showed us
In all he did. The fair way he treated
Us. The love he held for our mother,
His mother, and family members.
He taught me to be myself
To be a leader, and not a follower
To take responsibility for my behavior
He reminded us to be lenient in our
Dealings with others and to be strict
With dealings with ourselves
He trusted us to be the best in whatever we did
Encouraged our dreams
Woke us on a hot summer’s eve to
Eat ice cream he carried home
On the bus.
Greeted us at the breakfast table on  

A winter’s day with fresh doughnuts
From the bakery near his bus stop
This may not be a poem but it is truth
About a man who taught me what to
Look for in the man I married
So, he too would be a Father
Not just the man Mother married.

anna alexander
5/19/1997
all right reserved
to Anna's Place

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