My Father
was a great guy
a great provider
who worked hard
seven days a week at times

An insomniac
We spoke
in the middle
of the night

A WW11 vet
he never spoke
of the war
even when questioned
he would say no more

He was against
the Vietnam War
If he had sons
he would have
sent them
away
"A senseless war"
was what he would
say

He didn't have sons
and he never made me feel
like he did
He loved his daughters
but always would say
"I love you girls;
but I love your Mother more"

I was never insulted
I knew that this
was the way it was
supposed to be

"After your kids
are grown
and gone,
we'll only have each other"

Kids do grow up
and go away.
My sister and I did
I moved across the street
and gave him 2 grandkids
(girls of course)
He loved them dearly,
but my Mom was still
the love of his life.

When I moved
to another state
he convinced my Mom
to move closer
to me

He missed me
and his granddaughters
and started a new life

But that was
not meant to be
He soon got sick
and had to stop
working- he was lost

I had another child
another girl
(of course!)
He loved her so much
and called her
his "little girlfriend"
I guess she was really
his favorite
until the end

He got sicker
and sicker
and finally
his heart just
gave out
A fighter- he wasn't
not like my Mom

When he died
I buried
a part of myself
The man who raised me
was now dead
in the ground.

03/24/2009

Author's Note: I needed to write this. Yesterday, I wrote about my Mother-Today is his turn

Posted on 03/24/2009
Copyright © 2026 Joan Serratelli