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" I REMEMBER DADDY"
* * *
I sit alone and ponder while all is quiet and still;
except the pitter-patter of raindrops on the sill;
except the distant yonder... yielding echos of a train;
it's whistle, faint and somber like a sad song in refrain.
* *
The time could not be better, for the TV's on the blink;
and Grandma took the children down to the skating rink.
* *
So I sit in my recliner with a pencil and a pad;
to write a special poem about my special Dad;
who long ago in passing left a memory to behold;
who lived with great compassion with a heart as pure as gold!
* *
Still, I see my Father as I saw him yesteryear,
when he fought the tribulations that society came to bear ;
for he was one in millions who had the grit to stay...
to keep on digging ditches for fifty-cents a day!
* *
It took a lot of courage when depression took it's toll;
and Dad was no exception with eight kids in the fold.
When asked about his worth, he said: l'm poor as I can be,
but I'm the richest man on earth with all my family.
* *
But most of all that I recall was Dad's true dedication...
to God, to us, to church and all with daily meditation.
And how he loved a gospel song when Sunday's meeting came;
he would always lead the throng with all the hymns they sang.
* *
When at last his time drew nigh, he seemed so reconciled;
he was so weak to even speak, he just looked at me and smiled.
His victory won at ninety-one, he raised his arms and cried,
as if to say "Lord take me home for I am satisfied!"
* *
And somewhere in the great beyond I know my father waits,
along with siblings and my Mom... for me.. at the pearly gates!
William E. Hardison ( c )
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