A poetic remembrance of my Dad–I wrote 2 poems this week, in 2 very different moods. It’s interesting how we can feel so many different feelings in close proximity to each other. And what better way to express all of it than in poetry. I’ll share the silly one next week. This week, I’m sharing the one about my dad. I wrote about him and the Mourner’s Kaddish a couple of weeks ago.
Poetic Remembrance: the inspiration
This poem is a Terzanelle–inspired by the #OctPoWriMo Challenge one day this week. The rhyme scheme goes like this (capital letters are repeated lines: ABA bCB cDC dED eFE and the last verse is either fAFA or fFAA. Each line is supposed to have the same metrical length. The prompt words: magic, veil, ancestors, childhood, midnight.
The memories–happy
When I thought about my childhood when getting ready to write this poem, I remembered that one year for my birthday–I was probably 8 or 9–I got these science kits that came in the mail every month. On the weekend after one arrived, my dad and I would go into the basement and do the experiments together. I don’t remember the experiments, but I remember that special time with my dad.
The memories–difficult
It also really hit me what my mom and dad did for me. It’s a memory I don’t remember. When my dad’s mom remarried, I was 6 years old–maybe 5. My mom came into the kitchen to find my new grandpa kissing me in a way a grown-up shouldn’t kiss a child. But within months after that happened, my parents gave up jobs, home, being close to their family and friends in order to protect me. My mom didn’t tell me about this until “grandpa’s” funeral. I never knew–until she told me almost 20 years later.
It’s kind of hard to write about this. I’ve shared this experience with a few people who are close to me. But I’ve never written about it in any public way. But it feels like the right moment.
Poetic Remembrance–in loving memory of my dad
Quiet, kind, and gentle soul
Artist and thinker at heart
Quiet, kind, and gentle soul.
Loved us more right from the start
Monthly science boxes came
Artist and thinker at heart.
Bald head shining in the rain
Summer visits to his mom
Monthly science boxes came.
Through riot-burned streets, now calm
Grown-ups speaking Yiddish
Summer visits to his mom.
Conversations unfinished
Protected me–I didn’t know
Grown-ups speaking in Yiddish.
Held me safe to learn and grow
Protected me–I didn’t know.
Quiet, kind, and gentle soul
Quiet, kind, and gentle soul.
Susan Bruck
Poetry Friday
Thanks to Linda over at TeacherDance for hosting this week–and sharing Halloween poems and images for this Halloween which will be different this year.
And I’ll be hosting Poetry Friday next week–for the very first time. Who knows what the world will be like a week from now. At this point, I’m planning to share my silly poem. I hope you’ll join me on the other side!
Thank for stopping by.
xoxo
Thank you for sharing! A lovely poem and I really loved that photo you took as well. Kind of a magical feel in it as it has memories woven in that fading print, even to a total stranger like me. Thank you!
Please do watch my first YouTube video here:
https://youtu.be/4Km4O2OZqSQ
Thank you for your kind words!
The memory of your doing science with your dad is a sweet one, Susan, represents all that he meant to you, doesn’t it? I love your poem, the repetition you chose is so loving. That your parents acted to protect you without telling you till you were grown kept you safe in many ways. Thank you for this special post celebrating your father!
Thanks, Linda! I have been blessed to have my parents’ love and support in my life. But what they did to protect me is really amazing. I think it really hit me in these days since my dad’s passing how much they protected me through their actions and through not speaking about what happened until the time was right, even though it felt really strange when I found out.
Susan, it is hard to talk about deep-seated issues but you did and I hope this puts your mind at ease. Your memory of your Dad are fond ones as indicated by your poem. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the encouragement, Carol. I do feel more at ease after writing this.
Susan – a deeply stirring post, with its horror and valor. Your father, like mine, was a protector. The verse – and the sketch! – are filled with palpable love in every line. Those prompt words are magnificent – like sparks, like doves, being released in this powerful tribute to your dad.
Thanks, Fran. I liked that synchronicity of finding that prompt just on the exact day I needed it.
I’m so glad your parents put you first!
I am, too. I was so sad to leave my home when it happened. But I have such deep appreciation and love for them and what they did for me.
So much to love about this post, Susan. Your appreciation for your dad, your bravery to share, your dad doing science experiments with you, your parents protecting you. The quiet and eternal love here. Beautiful.
Thanks, Tabatha–the meanderings of memory can be so interesting and random. I hadn’t thought about those science experiments since who knows when! And I’m learning to find the courage to share some of these difficult things.
Appreciations for this deep share – for the family foto treasure, your drawing, your prose story; this helps any parent reading this, in the same circumstance, to be protective in the right way.
Thanks, Jan. It was a tough one to write, but it felt like the right time to share all of this. I hope it gives courage to someone who needs it.
Beautiful and sensitive poem Susan, thanks for sharing it with all of us, and I like your drawing too! I hope you are doing okay in the craziness of our world and that your new adopted state is fairing you well, xo.
Thank you, Michelle! I’m hanging in there. It’s better now that the wildfires are under control here and the air is clear. Colorado is wonderful–and the times are still crazy. And I still miss our critique group!
[…] This has been a stressful week in a stressful year. I’ve been sharing some more serious thoughts in recent week–like last week, I wrote a post/poem in memory of my Dad. […]
Susan, I am so glad your parents loved you so immensely. From the basement science experiments to giving up so much to keep you safe–they obviously cherished you. Hugs as you sort through memories both good and bad.
Thanks, Laura–I feel so blessed and grateful to be so loved. Hugs back to you–I appreciate your kind words.
[…] shared other memories of my dad here in recent weeks. He was a good man and I’m grateful. to have had him in my life for so […]