Father



Once you had arms
that held me so tight

Once you had legs
that stood up for right

Once you had eyes
that could see in the dark

Once your strong hands
plotted courses to chart

Once we would walk
and the birds would proclaim

Once we would sing
and the heavens refrained

Once we thought time
was our servant and slave

Once, before war
we forgot and forgave

Now that you’re gone,
my memory’s gone dark

Now that you’re gone,
paths unwalked in the park

Now that you’re gone,
surname given and fast

Now that you’re gone
—my heart beats in the past

(Villanova Pennsylvania: January, 2020)
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Submitted by KurtPhilipBehm on January 23, 2020

Modified on April 01, 2023

32 sec read
27

Quick analysis:

Scheme xa xa xb xx xx xx xc xc Db Db De De x
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 568
Words 108
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1

Kurt Philip Behm

Longtime writer with twelve books in publication. Three of them Poetry. : The Death Of The Playground : The Sword Of Ichiban : Searching For Crazy Horse : Darkening Sun : An Anthology Of Perception-Vol's 1 & 2 : After Midnight : Sammy And Bumpers : The Fall City Mandate : Revenge Along The War Trail : Death from The Sky more…

All Kurt Philip Behm poems | Kurt Philip Behm Books

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