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friday feast: only a daughter, only a dad
mood: 
grateful
grateful
My great-niece, Marin, photographed by her dad, Ian
Oh, the power we daughters hold over our fathers!
We don't mean to.
But you insisted on wrapping yourselves around our little fingers.
Then you let us stand on your feet so we could dance, and proudly carried us around on your shoulders for all to see.
Is it any wonder we worship you?
Every day our lives hang in the balance, and you bear us up, without a second thought, making our burdens as light as air.
ONLY CHILD
by D. Nurkse
I cradled my newborn daughter
and felt the heartbeat
pull me out of shock.
She didn't know
what her hands were:
she folded them. I asked her
was there a place
where there was no world.
She didn't know
what a voice was: her lips
were the shape of a nipple.
(Rest here.)
ONLY A DAD
by Edgar Albert Guest
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deed that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
(from A Heap O' Livin', 1916)
Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day to all the guys out there who are "only dads."
Cloudscome is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup at A Wrung Sponge.
**Here's a nice list of father daughter stories from Mitali's Fire Escape.
As a "lover" of faces and old photos....
Your great-niece is adorable with such innocent beauty in her face!
And you and your dad is picture with an incredible story!
thanks!
Re: As a "lover" of faces and old photos....
I think the one of me and my dad was taken at Haleiwa Beach Park.
U R adordable.
What a lovely tribute to fathers everywhere.
Thank you for this!
(Anonymous)
Jules, 7-Imp
(Anonymous)
Thank you dear daughter
daughters hold a magical spell
what it is i cannot tell
all i know is whenever i think of you
happy memories of holding you live anew.
by james
Re: Thank you dear daughter
(Anonymous)
Mahalo to Jama and her Dad
Mitali
Re: Mahalo to Jama and her Dad
Well, that alone makes me smile. :-)
The pictures, though -- oh, love that one of you with your dad. And your great-niece is beautiful!
I love watching the daddy-daughter bond develop between my husband and our girls. From the moment he held and danced with our first, I fell in love with him all over again. It is an amazing thing to witness.
(Anonymous)
writer2b
Now you made me want to dig out pictures of my dad, and pictures of my husband when he first became a dad. But I'll get teary! I know I will...
My 80 something parents just bought a new plot of land and are preparing to build a new house. My father built the one I grew up in, and the one they still live in, in the early 50s. I just can't believe their leaving it, but I'm so proud they're taking on this new challenge.
Thanks so much for highlighting Dads today.
Yes, those were the days of cigarettes, before the Surgeon General stepped in. I'm sure you made my dad's day by calling him handsome :)!