A poem I wrote on Father's Day...keep it kicked, would you?

[LeftyFingerPop]

When I was a child
I walked on the fourth floor open joists
On the skeletons of partially torn down buildings
Afraid, but not
With my father, holding my hand
After we went home, I would sneak back
And climb the rope to the third floor
To the pile of bricks from the demolished chimney
So I could drop the bricks one by one
To the muddy and gouged turf below
I waited for the police
Because someone would phone about the small child on the building
Dropping the bricks
From the building that his father bid on to tear down

My father
With the fourth grade “education”
Who taught himself to write
And took care of sixteen brothers and sisters
Without the help of Google
No hard drives
No keyboards
No acronyms. Rotary dial phones with no voice mail
No bravado. No fame, no game, no crap.

The police came with their sirens
Two cars, two uniforms
Not wanting to sully the pressed blue
They yelled up to me, telling me to come down
I did as I was told, and was taken home
They scolded my father
He listened quietly, and nodded
When they left, he hugged me, kissed me
And bit my cheek with love
I smelled the plaster and lath on his shirt
He told me he loved me

I went with him to the building the next day
Like I did everyday after school
And smashed down walls
And bundled and tied lath
And watched my dad struggle
Along with the homeless that he hired
And fed, and housed in our apartments for free

When his brothers were out of work
They would come and toil for good money at the time
My Uncle Joe was the tallest
A handsome man, six foot four and chiseled
Unlike my dad, Joe would smile was he worked
He would swing the maul and I swear his teeth would glimmer

I worked with them, all of them
I learned how to blow the dust out of my nose without a tissue
I learned which cuts to ignore, and which ones to tell about

And I learned what many do not have the chance to learn
“Drop it”
When you are a child and you have a twelve-foot wall section
In your gloved hands with five other bodies
On the fourth floor
You need to heave it into the truck below
One...swing…two…swing…three…
HEAVE!!!
If a nail catches your work glove
You’d better throw that glove off your hand
Or else you are going down with the wall.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear LeftyFingerPop!

I'm so glad you decided to post this!

It's superb...

Heartfelt, true to you and your father's love...

I can see the scenes you describe so vividly! They live in my mind...

Thank you so much, sweetie...

:hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

8. Thanks a lot Peg...

:hug:

[Heidi]

2. I love this.

It reminds me of all of the things I've learned from my own dad. :hug: :hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

9. I know, and thank you...

:hug:

[Kali]

3. really nice

*crap! something in my eye*

[LeftyFingerPop]

10. mine too...

:cry: :hug:

[Inchworm]

4. Pay me! I've read yer stuff

Am I losing by not knowing?

*stands firmly*

[LeftyFingerPop]

11. It's the singer not the song, that makes the music move along...

:D

[Inchworm]

13. I made it like 2 spaces...

This better be good, hooker.

If you were falling.. I would catch you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fShw08h9Sic

:hi:

[LeftyFingerPop]

15. Read it tomorrow my friend.

[BarenakedLady]

5. Wow

:hug:

[Inchworm]

6. Hi, you!

I hope dude's poem wasn't about his muthers death or nothing, but I love you.

:P

Weeeeeeeee!

:*:*:*

[LeftyFingerPop]

12. Thank you, are you enjoying the new home?

:hug:

[Dystopian]

7. LeftyFingerPop...

You've touched my heart...
These are words and feelings of beauty...the love between father and son.
Your father taught you well....
It shows..
Heartfelt thanks for posting your poem....
Shine on...

peace & love to you~

[LeftyFingerPop]

14. You always touch my heart...

and a few other hearts,too.

:loveya:

[Dystopian]

17. Sweet of you...

Before I sleep...
Thank you once again for sharing your poetry..
Your wondrous tribute to love and life...:hug:


peace~

[LeftyFingerPop]

16. .

[S n o w b a l l]

18. Very very nice.

:hug:

:loveya:

[LeftyFingerPop]

19. Thanks a lot Snowball...10 recs last night, down to 6 now LOL!

The "un-reccers" must be crawling out of their holes looking for some food.

:hug: :loveya:

[Danger Mouse]

20. Recommended. Very nicely done.

I'm impressed. :)

[LeftyFingerPop]

21. Thanks very much, Danger Mouse...

I have been debating whether to post it because it is so personal...

I appreciate your kind words. :)

[Nicole Lambeth]

22. best poem the lounge has seen in a long time -

maybe you should start giving lessons!

[LeftyFingerPop]

23. Thanks a lot, Nicole...that is very kind of you to say...

:)

As far as giving lessons, I couldn't write a "real" poem to save my life. I just write what I am thinking...I have no idea about the correct "structure" of a poem, etc.

I did take a few creative writing courses in college, but I've long since forgotten that stuff. :hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. What an unusual poem. :^)

[LeftyFingerPop]

25. .

Is that good or bad? :D

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. I read it all the way to the end, so it must have been good. :^D (No seriously, it

really held my attention with the story threaded through it, and the end caught me off-guard.)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. nicely done, Lefty...

sounds like the kind of man I would like to have known in real life.

[LeftyFingerPop]

28. Thank you Tuesday...

He was a hell of a guy. :hug:

[DeepBlueC]

29. that's a vivid lovely poem

It also brings back memories for me of being on site while my father built our house pretty much by himself. I didn't do a lot of work myself, mainly lots of chimney-scaling, joist-walking and all the other things a parent today would be jailed for letting their little kid do. I did get an apron so I could hand him nails when he was putting down shingles.

Thank you.

[LeftyFingerPop]

30. Thank you very much...

I am glad that you were able to share the house building experience with your dad. :hug:

[Blue_Tires]

31. kick for Blue Tires, Sr.

1942-2009 :cry:

[LeftyFingerPop]

33. I'm so sorry...

My deepest condolences...

Peace to you :hug:

[Blue_Tires]

36. thanks...

this was my first Father's Day without him...

[LeftyFingerPop]

37. That is incredibly difficult...

that first one...

Sending you my best wishes...

[LeftyFingerPop]

32. edit...moved...n/t

[frogmarch]

34. Superb!

What a moving tribute to your father. It needs to be published so that more people can read it.

Lots of vivid imagery there. Wow!

[LeftyFingerPop]

35. Thanks a lot frogmarch...

Your kind words mean a lot :hi: