For I will praise my father

for his giant frame

that once dwarfed me

as an oak tree

dwarfs a flower;

and for his big hands,

sure and strong,

and for the blue

sea secret of his eyes;

and I will praise him again

for the work he did

and the back

he bowed to feed me;

and more for the songs

he never sang,

and those he kept

to kindle

the great dark.

 

And I will praise my father

for the patience he had

and for the skills he acquired

through his living;

and again and again

for his blustering heart,

as big and as wide as the wind;

and I will praise him also

for the counsel he kept,

and for the slow, secret wisdom

of his judgement;

but I will praise most of all

the love he had;

and for how

he found the strength

to endure.