Only a Dad
By Edgar A. Guest
Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.
Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him,
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.
This Suday…
Let us praise those fathers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both the joys and the sacrifices attendant to each.
Let us praise those fathers who, despite lacking a good model for a father, have worked to become good fathers.
Let us praise those fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.
Let us praise those fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children’s lives.
Let us praise those fathers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing.
Let us praise those fathers who, as stepfathers, freely choose the obligation of fatherhood and earned their step children’s love and respect.
Let us praise those fathers who have lost a child to death, and forever hold the loss of that child in their heart.
Let us praise those men who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own.
Let us praise those men who have “fathered” us in their role as mentors and guides.
Let us praise those men who are about to become fathers; that they may openly delight in their children.
And let us praise those fathers who have died, but live on in our memory and whose love continues to nurture us.
“Father! – to God himself we cannot give a holier name.” – William Wordsworth
Have an AWE-full Father’s Day weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacque’