Tuesday, January 26, 2016

What is a father?

What is a father?

Is your father your friend? Is your father your mentor?  Do you know what your father is?
   If he’s your friend, then he’s a fool. A fool, who’s more interested in making you laugh. A fool who hangs out with you. A fool who never tells you you’re wrong.
   But if he’s your father, he might make you laugh-sometimes. He’ll tell you you’re wrong. He’ll tell you to clean your room and make your bed; to get up early and do your school work. He’ll have you pull weeds from around the bricks on the patio on a Saturday morning, while your friends are texting you about mischievous errands for the day.
   And he knows of those errands! He has been there himself, and you will not fool him. He may lighten up on the reigns to see you break a little, but he’ll be there for the error, and he’ll mend the broken days.
   Your father will give advice, lots of advice, and you’ll not listen—sometimes. But his voice will be in your head, when you didn’t jump-back on that curve ball, didn’t line up your fingers on the threads as the ball wobbles out of control. His advice will be there when your friends sneak some liquor out of their parent’s cabinets. His voice will be there when your friend, who’s drunk, gets behind the wheel. Will you listen? His voice will be there many times in your life as each day gets harder and more complicated to understand.
   Your father is a sculpturer, a man who molds another man with thoughts and words and actions. He will never be famous for his work. He may fail, break, die, but his triumph’s will endure. His failures will also endure, for you to remember, to never forget how the taller than life figure, could be brought down. On that day you’ll know he was not a god, or an unstoppable power. Just a man, who was never your friend, he was much more than that.

© Copyright 2016
Artemis J Jones

Opinion pieces.

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