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My Father's Day
by Kristina WoodhillTwenty eight
long years ago
my father died
on Father's Day
I laughed and cried
then shook my head
and wondered what
he might have said
just knowing how
he loved a joke
a good tale from
a Wodehouse book
young Bertie on
a crazy chase
some golf game
or a pretty face
he'd read those stories
turn to us
his eyes would squint
he'd start to bust
his chuckles grew
his eyes would brim
we'd catch his drift
then start to grin
and soon enough
there we'd all be
caught up
in Dad's hilarity
his laughter loud
mouth open wide
his gold tooth
shining there inside
his right jaw scarred
a bullet's tear
memento from
that distant war
a split in time
a passage through
allowing him
more to time to grow
from young man
to the Dad I knew
from young man
to the Dad I knew
another split
but this one closed
a door shut
one man's deep repose
you'd think he'd lie
there peacefully
but I know he'd
die differently
and chose this day
to breach the brink
to send us all
one final wink
06/17/2007
Author's Note: Dad died on Father's Day, June 17, 1979 after a long illness when I was in my late 20's. I choose to remember him laughing during his healthy years and know he would have gotten a kick out of dying on this particular day. He was shot in the jaw in WWII fighting in New Guinea, to live to die another day. A small scar graced his jaw line and I distinctly remember him putting in each morning with a “click” a small plate that fit where teeth had been damaged.
Posted on 06/17/2007
Copyright © 2025 Kristina Woodhill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 06/18/07 at 12:43 AM This is just simple a pleasant cheer to my day. Thank you! No doubt, children have more need of models than of critics. |
| Posted by Rhiannon Jones on 06/18/07 at 02:33 AM This was a warm pleasure to read. I enjoyed that last stanza. |
| Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 06/19/07 at 03:14 PM Wonderfully warm and tender. A great way to remember your father. Very individual and personal. Suggesting this for POTD. |
| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 06/20/07 at 10:59 AM Dad would have liked this poem too, and that you remember him with the smile and wink, the "hilarity" -- you've transmitted well the pleasure of his personality, his resilience and fun being around him. It's the best one can do! And I agree... he would definitely be amused with his own unconscious timing... |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/21/09 at 04:54 PM Very moving tribute to your Dad. I also prefer to remember my Dad in his younger years, before he got sick. Your Dad would have loved this poem- just as much as he loved you!
Great write- Bittersweet and touching
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