How many times has he answered the call?
Even when you shunned him, a victim of your own security.
When you were alone and trembling and facing a wall
Of doubt and uncertainty he stood by for posterity.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he made you his friend,
Let you in on his secrets, the older brother you never had.
He taught you life lessons with grace and the skill to pretend
That you can disguise with a knowing smile, a wounded heart so sad.
And from his example you’ve struggled to earn,
The respect that you craved when he taught you to fight,
For the things you believe in and the courage to say
I am the man you’ve helped me become, and I make it my right
To honor you, Dad, without reservation or regret,
Through time’s long lonely passage, a son never forgets.
©2003 by John L. Fischer