Patty Cole’s most recent poem to appear here was ICU (May 2012). About this poem, Patty says “This was a class assignment where we took the first 5 words of a Mary Oliver poem which is written in the second person and wrote our own poem. I wrote mine for my 88-year-old Dad.”
For You, Daddy
By Patty Cole
One day you finally realize you are no longer 11
and he is no longer 48, but rather 51 and 88.
And you will not always have him to correct your grammar,
fuss over how you boil spaghetti, or tell you not to spend
your money on all those hats, even though you’re an adult.
And you will not always have him to call every morning
just to hear him yawn and tell you he’s already out of bed
when he’s not.
But you will continue to call his number even when
someone else’s voice answer the phone.
no matter how old we are, when we lose a parent, we feel orphaned.
Ms. Cole reminds us that the relationship with parents will not be with us forever. It’s good to be grateful ‘now’ for parental love and to show love in return. I thought of my father who died at a young age. I was nineteen and I am now elderly but he shows up often in my dreams. A poignant and all too real poem. Thanks for sharing.