My Father's Eulogy
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You are all gathered here today
To pay your respects to someone you knew.
However,
I come today not to bury my father
But set him free.
You see
The man who was my father died
Along with his dreams
Many years back.
He was slowly crushed by disappointments
Until he no longer wished to fight
This shell was not the father of my childhood
Who stood straight as the redwoods
He is not the man who knew how to laugh and play.
My father bartered his pride for too small a price
And became a pauper.
His self esteem slipped away long before his last breath.
He had been trying to suffocate himself
Under his own weight.
I knew him when he still had a twinkle in his eyes.
So,
Do not cry for this body before you
Because you never met the actual soul
That so long ago was housed in his body.
He deformed himself to the extent
That even he no longer recognized himself in his reflection.
Perhaps it was easier not remembering
Who he use to be.
I inherited my sense of humor, my love of music,
My quickness and speed from my father,
Even my biting sarcasm.
My spirit seems to be my mother's.
For those of you who knew him in his youth
You knew him better than me
For those of you who knew him with a young family
You knew him as well as me.
For those of you who met him once he was broken
You may have seen a glimmer of who he use to be,
And, that, on a good day.
I will say again,
Thank you for your presence
I will ask you kindly,
Not to weep.
My father left this life long ago
Because in his dreams
He could hide from the world and find his peace.
Let him sleep a last long slumber
And,
I wish him beautiful dreams.
poem by Rabia Minhas
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Related quotes
The Prisoner Of War
he waited from night to night
he waited till the son started peeling over the horizon
he waited till he heard the morning birds chirp
he waited for a long time
he waited for his father
his father lost at war
his father he knew since he was born
but as time grew
the boy felt so weary
the boy waited and waited and waited
his mother giving him the same face
the same face when his father left
and the same face when he didn't comeback
but the boy did not notice this
the boy never knew his dad has been lost
but until
until he strayed up one night
a night he would never forget
he saw his father walking about in the streets
his uniform on but he noticed something else
his father had many medals
but he knew nothing of them
all that he cared about was his father was home
the boy waited 10 years
his mother fell asleep in tears
for all those years
but then he finally came home
this poem is dedicated to all POW
poem by Montana Hohensee
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No father?
i told my father it was so and i got up and left him then you know
though there was nowhere i had to go and nothing i had to do
i stand before you father
but you refuse to see
oh father, have you forgotten me?
i kneel before you father
but you do not feel
i am your flesh and same blood
if only you knew
if only i could tell you your an ass
if only i could say and put into words what you've put me through
if only you were around to say good job
as a father you have failed
as a father you were never there
i am ill be gotten history
...no father?
poem by Calvin Jenkins
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Lyrael's Father
Father I’m listening
To all your travels and plans
Take me away
From all this troubled land
A sigh is just a sigh
And he knows you’ll never wake
Find your way home, Father
To live a little more
Father I never knew you well
You never really knew me
Wrap me in your velvet cloak
Do everything you’re meant to be
A sigh is just a sigh
And he knows you’re trying hard
Keep me safe and warm, Father
Don’t deny me
Mother she’s gone now
She was always there
Warm with compassion
Now I’m only scared
A sigh is just a sigh
You never knew me well
Tell me all your stories
Tell me about the world
Don’t live to ignore me
I didn’t do you wrong
You’ll find out soon enough
When all of you in me has gone
A Father’s meant to be there
Teach their children how to fight
In this big bad world with tough strict laws
To give it all their might
But how can I call you “Father”?
When you’re just another person to me
I have your genes and features
But not the love I need
A sigh is just a sigh
He’ll say Lyrael I’m proud
Of all the things I’ve seen you do
You’re my little girl
poem by Lyrael Myrna
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The Man of Her Dreams
today is the day i marry the man of my dreams
today is the day all my worries will be deceased
today is the day all my dreams will come true
today is the day that i say i do
today is the day that two become one
today is the day to rejoice and have fun
today is the day i give you my heart because i knew i loved you from the start
today is the day you take my hand and we have our first weddeing dance
today is the day that ive been waitin for
today is the day that i can truely say that i am yours
today is the day to see family and friends
today is the day you became my one and only man
today is the day`to laugh joke and play
today is the day that my father gives me away
today is the day i marry the man of my dreams
today is the day ive been dreamin about in my sleep
today is the day
poem by Nene Brock
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Father Of Night
Father of night, father of day,
Father, who taketh the darkness away,
Father, who teacheth the bird to fly,
Builder of rainbows up in the sky,
Father of loneliness and pain,
Father of love and father of rain.
Father of day, father of night,
Father of black, father of white,
Father, who build the mountain so high,
Who shapeth the cloud up in the sky,
Father of time, father of dreams,
Father, who turneth the rivers and streams.
Father of grain, father of wheat,
Father of cold and father of heat,
Father of air and father of trees,
Who dwells in our hearts and our memories,
Father of minutes, father of days,
Father of whom we most solemnly praise.
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Father Loves to Push Buttons
It took me a while to obey,
The will of My Father.
I wanted to have 'things'
I could touch and show.
And I was teased.
I was 'allowed' to have a few of these...
Before they were taken away.
They had to go.
I was not doing what My Father wished.
And obstacles placed on my path,
Became harder to dismiss.
I was spoiled,
And My Father knew this.
And He wanted to teach me.
And I refused to listen.
I am glad those times are gone.
I have since moved on.
With heartbreak and sorrows mending.
And I know God has to have a sense of humor!
Some of the things I had said to Him,
Were not pleasant at all.
In fact they were nasty!
But now...today,
We are extremely close.
He knows what I have been through.
And I know He is and has been always there,
For me.
And now when I hear someone,
Talking to My Father in disrespect...
I don't like it!
But...
I don't know what they are going through either.
I ask God to cut them some slack!
And I can hear Him laughing.
My Father loves to push buttons!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Letter My Father Will Never See
if only one last time i could see you. if only one time i could tell you what i think. if only one time i could say what i've been thinking for all these years. if only i could just not care. if only it didn't hurt so much. if only i could say that you dont matter. if only i could tell you. if only one time you'd listen. if only you knew. if only i could tell you your an ass. if only i could say and put into words what you've put me through. if only you were around to say good job.
as a father you have failed. as a father you were never there. as a father you never held me. as a father you never cared. as a father you never gave me praise. as a father you never brushed my hair. as a father you didn't teach me about life. as a father you didn't teach me how to care. as a father you never showed me love. as a a father you you let me cower in the corner. as a father you scared the hell out of me every night of the week. as a father you came home drunk. as a father you didn't put me to bed. as a father you never gave me a hug as a father you were my worst night. however, for some reason i cant fathom your my father. and for the same reason i cant fathom how you earned the title when being a father was one thing that you never were and dont seem to want to be.
Games We Play
The Hollies
The Games We Play
(Allan Clarke/Tony Hicks/Graham Nash)
Track 12 (final) on album 'Evolution' june 1967
Well, I heard your mother say
what a pleasant boy you're going with.
That I don't mean any harm
and I only want to play.
Though I know she's just protecting you,
you're just a little girl.
Well, if your mother only knew the games we play.
When I take you home with me,
all the family get along with you.
Sitting all through tea,
wondering what we're gonna do.
Leaving us alone
the temptation's far too strong.
If your family only knew the games we play.
Are you sure we're getting away with this?
You cannot fool your mother or your father for long.
Only time will tell
if they are right and we are wrong.
{interlude}
Are you sure we're getting away with this?
You cannot fool your mother or your father for long.
Only time will tell
if they are right and we are wrong.
{mini interlude}
They know the games we play
there's no hiding things like this from them.
We know we're not the first
and we'll never be the last.
Everybody gets hung up,
we might have to pay,
and everybody knows the games we play.
song performed by by Hollies
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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F a t h e r
I gave my father seven years
of love unconditional
then in my eighth year
my father decided
to mould me
in my eighth year
I saw through my father
beyond the love
the love had not gone; simply
there is not time for love
when the battle is to find yourself
my eighth year was fatal; that's fatal
meaning in the hands of fate..
forgive me, father, for
I knew not what I knew.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Too Good 2 B True
I somehow already knew
That my family was just too good to be true
As for me when I first saw you I knew
That it was my destiny to love you
I use to wonder if it was because of you that she would stutter
I just assumed that it was because you were my father
Well one day she told me all these stories
That I found to be completely boring
We were all just a normal family
That I so badly wanted to be jolly
One day I realized that my family was getting better
But it was as I fell asleep later
To bad we only existed as I was happily sleeping
And when I was awake I spent all day weeping
Turns out we will never be more than just a tragedy
Because you are the one person that I believe is the least fatherly
We are a happy family but only when I’m sound asleep
I truly believe that no thanks to you, to a young woman I have leaped
So I’m here to tell you that I’m no longer tired
And as my father you are now completely fired! !
poem by Wendy Rodriguez
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Song For Dad
Lately Ive been noticing
I say the same things he used to say
And I even find myself acting the very same way
I tap my fingers on the table
To the rhythm in my soul
And I jingle the car keys
When Im ready to go
When I look in the mirror
Hes right there in my eyes
Starin back at me and I realize
The older I get
The more I can see
How much he loved my mother and my brother and me
And he did the best that he could
And I only hope when I have my own family
That everyday I see
A little more of my father in me
There were times I thought he was bein
Just a little bit hard on me
But now I understand he was makin me
Become the man he knew that I could be
In everything he ever did
He always did with love
And Im proud today to say Im his son
When somebody says I hope I get to meet your dad
I just smile and say you already have
The older I get
The more I can see
How much he loved my mother and my brother and me
And he did the best that he could
And I only hope when I have my own family
That everyday I see
A little more of my father in me
Hes in my eyes
My heart, my soul
My hands, my pride
And when I feel alone
And I think I cant go on
I hear him sayin son youll be alright
Everythings gonna be alright
Yes it is
The older I get
The more I can see
That he loved my mother and my brother and me
And he did the best that he could
And I only hope when I have my own family
That everyday I see
Oh I hope I see
I hope everyday I see
A little more of my father in me
A little more of my father in me
I hope everyday I see in me
In me
In me
I hope everyday I see
A little more of my father in me
song performed by by Keith Urban
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In Prayer to You
Thank you, My Father
For all that You've done for me.
For all that you've done for me...
I thank You, My Father.
Thank you, My Father
For all that You've done for me.
For all that you've done for me...
I thank You, My Father.
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
For all that you've done for me.
In the early morning hours,
When I arise to greet the Sun...
I feel blessed and prepared,
With such gratefulness...
In prayer to You.
This I must do!
And when noon approaches...
No matter what I have done,
Before that time comes...
That may create a disturbance,
I did not invite nor did I make.
I find time to show it is You I appreciate.
In prayer to You.
This I must do!
Whether or not...
Thunder storms roar,
Or rain drops fall to pitter and pat.
Thank you, My Father
For all that You've done for me.
For all that you've done for me...
I thank You, My Father.
And at the oncoming of Sunset...
Not one moment do I forget,
The power of Your presence...
That showers the blessings,
From You I get!
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
Thank You...
Father, Father, Father!
In prayer to You.
This I must do!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Hailstone Food
My father loved the rain
Rain with hailstones
Twenty years gone past
When green and blue
Was all I knew
No red of blood
Nor ‘supreme’ of white
Nor ‘beauty’ of black
Just green and blue and love
It rained with hailstones
White stones from heaven
My father knelt down
On wet September grass
His head to the sky
Few stones in his hands
My father said
‘‘Thank you Lord for hailstone food! ”
I recall less of other days
When it didn’t rain
Perhaps such days were spent
Patiently waiting to say
“Thank you Lord for hailstone food! ”
Twenty years long wait
Four hearts waiting, breaking
My father waiting, breaking
Waiting! ?
But every body waited for him
I think my father never knew
About the power within him
To make the rain fall
Down once again
And hailstones to scatter
His September lawn
I know now
He was a patient man
Yesterday I dug a hole
And I closed a chapter
With all my childhood’s tears
I put my father in the ground
Funny this:
As the body went down
The clouds began collecting
As the sand filled the hole
The rain began to fall
And as we left the site
White stones scattered the land
poem by LLM Mbatha
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Father, son, spirit
The father conceives his son
the son grows with his father
the spirit allows the heritage
Father, son, spirit. The father says sweet things to his son
the son is a rosebud to his father
the spirit remembers the instant of conception
Spirit, father, son. The father works, gladly
the son at school, learns much
the spirit, lovingly, joins them
Son, father, spirit The son makes his father, a good father
the union of father and son,
is the work of the spirit of love
Spirit, son, father.
poem by Teresa Gonzalez-Lee
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Random things about my Mother
My mother whose eyes were strained
By a sadness that stained her eyes
With grey and blue hue
My mother who never blew
Out candles on a birthday cake
My mother who never knew
The thrills of flying in an airplane
My mother who forever threw
Her pearls to swine
My mother who knew
No contentment in living
My who mother never lived
To be even seventy two
My mother who it is true
Stopped living long before she died
My mother from whose mouth flew
Words of disappointment and fury
My mother whose lips
Tasted bitter tears
My mother sat impatiently
In sorrow through her years
My mother who like Kunta Kinte
Was tamed by Diabets
My mother who was tamed
By my father
My mother who was captured by my father
My mother who fought with my father
The two them struggling false teeth piercing each others flesh
My mother who my father told to go and cook the mint
My mother who would beat us and cause wounds and bruises to our skin
My mother who love to walk about
My mother who gave a toe
A day away
My mother who kiked with her stump of a leg after she lost her foot
My mother who was a great dresser
My mother who could sing
Sang on the church choir
My mother who would be at the front of the church earliest every Saturday
My mother who insisted I be baptized and save by the holy ghost
My mother had beautiful handwriting
My mother who had nine children for five different men
My mother who tried to settle down with my father
My mother who could never swim
My mother who loved to sing
My mother who would tie us up on leashes and take us for long walks through the town
My mother who sought out hand me-downs – for our clothing
My mother who was active in the Welfare Society at church so she could cream the crop for her family
My mother who instigated many a conflicts with her numerous friend was left with only a few in the end.
My mother whom I so wanted to help evolve
My mother who I helped to live
My mother who I had to let die
My mother who lives in me
poem by Fleurette Elaine Harris
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My Father cuts a Furrow
My father cuts a furrow, true lines does he run,
My father cuts a furrow, no horses did he have,
My father cuts a furrow no fields, hills of grass,
My fathers furrows were wisdom,
This is what he had.
To his dying day his gait was straight and true,
My father was not a farmer, for the city,
All he knew.
As father cut his furrow, so does hit son, I am told,
The wisdom my Father passed on to lay dormant,
Many years, put on hold, not until the age of 78 did
I realize, not much time left, as I too was growing old,
So I write my poetry from my fathers wisdom,
That was willed to me, only way to have my stories told.
As father cut his furrow, so does his son, to pass
The wisdom, that was left from father,
God Bless his soul.
poem by Charles Garcia
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The Only Father I Have Really Ever Known
You never stood up and told the truth, you never even tried-
You simply took so much from those around you, and simply died-
Without contrition or even shame for all that you had done to so many-
Instead, I was left to carry guilt for a Father that did not have any.
The simple fact that you helped to procreate me, seemed to suffice,
As reason for the deceit and bias of many, the iniquitous price
That I was asked to pay, simply for who my Father was,
When I am no more responsible, for what my Father does,
Than those that you victimized before your untimely demise.
This is a most prescient fact that some do not stop to realize:
I was just a little boy then, yet became privy to your maleficence
As a man of 36, when my love for you became abhorrence;
When the man I knew as my Father died once again,
Where the sorrow for a Father lost, became the bain
Of my very existence-the thought that I mourned you
And the loss that I felt, when I was never warned, you
Were a monster-a fact that I should have known-
Instead, I held on to your memory, where I could have grown-
To distance myself from who I believed you to be,
To grow as a man, for all the world to see,
Unbiased by my connection to you, a man I never knew.
Instead, deceitful asservations, of things I could never do,
Continue to haunt me, as a spectre of unspeakable torment;
Where, my erstwhile inherent rights, I now sadly, silently lament.
It is not from you though, that I seek relief
From the horrors of my heart's abominable grief.
I look to my only real Father, in Heaven above,
Who only shows me compassion, truth, and love-
Not all that which you espoused, and have done.
You stole so much from us, but I will have won
When I can finally say I do not loathe you any longer,
Only what you have done-then I will be so much stronger
Than I am now, and then perhaps, ready to finally go home
To Heaven, and to the only Father I have really ever known.
-Maurice Harris,21 October 2012
poem by Maurice Harris
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If you knew
If you knew how much I love you!
If you knew how much I need you!
If you knew how dear you are to me!
If you knew how much I miss you!
If you knew how many times I think of you!
If you knew how painful it is to live without you!
If you knew when I feel hell lot of jealous for you!
If you knew why so many words for you!
If you knew why so many music for you!
If you knew how much I wish your best!
poem by Asif Andalib
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Jack's Confession Sonnet
Jack O'reilly:
Father I think you can guess why I left
I was only fifteen years old that time
nobody knew me, it wasn't for theft
I had to leave Manchester, for my crime
was exactly what you are thinking now
it was no coincidence, Lucas died
and it is clear to me your thinking how
Lucas had to go, all true to us tried
but nobody knew me I was a boy
my father never wanted me to fight
I took his gun and used it like a toy
I killed Lucas and I did what was right
because he killed my dad, I moved away
four years ago, I confess death that day.
poem by Daniel McCann
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Dead Relationship
what is this relationship with a dead father
what are these offerings to a dead father
what is this for?
whom is it for?
a duty or a right what for?
what the son had to offer a needy LIVING father.....
no one knew....there was no witness
what the son has offered to a dead father....
every one knew....there was quite a crowd to witness
the last right was a perfect performance
a perfect performance and that's what it was
to pacify the soul of the dead father
a perfect performance...out of fear
the SON would continue to perform this every year....
out of FEAR
poem by Samanyan Lakshminarayanan
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