For my Father

For my Father

Upon a loom I will weave your words,
With a pen I will write your songs,
And with a hook, I will crochet your memories.

Your words
Your songs
Your memories
Are of long ago
Of a time before I was born:
A time of war
Of cataclysm
Of horror
Beyond all but the most depraved imagining.

Yet your words
Your songs
Your lacelike memories
Are also of laughter
Of joy
And of hope.

This better world you hoped for,
This better world you fought for,
This better world you brought me into
Is filled with song of a different kind,
Far beyond those dreams of sunlight and peace.

Upon a loom of dust
I will weave your dreams into mine;
With a pen of darkest blood
I will write my words with yours;
With a hook of sharpest yearning
I will crochet a pattern filled with your music.

Inge Meldgaard 2011

http://redmatilda.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=niels anker lerche#/dn407t

This photo of my father (who died in 2002) was taken during WWII when, as a Danish marine engineer, his ship joined the British navy after Germany invaded Denmark, as did nearly all the Danish ships at sea. Many thousands of Danes lost their lives sailing with the British.

The poem was inspired by a series of related incidents and conversations. I recently converted some of my father’s 1940s 78s to digital format, after they had already been recorded to tape many years ago. When speaking with my sister about this, she mentioned that she intended to crochet my father’s old tapes from more recent years into a rug, because they were in very poor condition; which is a remarkably creative concept. Soon afterwards, a friend on Facebook gave a link to a site which has hits from the 1940s and onwards, and I have been listening to the 1940s tunes with great enjoyment, and in some cases, amusement. During and after WWII, my impression is that American and British music was aimed primarily at creating a cheerful and hopeful message, helping to keep allied troops and the civilian population from despairing. There is a quaint naivety in most of the songs, which contrasts so oddly with those from the 1960s and 70s, in particular, when the anti-war movements became very strong.

For further information about my father’s WWII years, using original documents, see:

http://redmatilda.deviantart.com/art/Book-of-the-Dead-102979151?q=boost:popular by:redmatilda anker&qo=3

http://redmatilda.deviantart.com/art/My-Dad-the-Alien-Biography-38744113