FATHER OF A THOUSAND SONS
FATHER OF A THOUSAND SONS
In blind faith we ignored logic
Relinquished reality
Procrastinating inevitability
Under the influence of
The delusional opiate of the indomitable saga.
Yet
With your ultimate lesson -
When in subtle sleep
You slipped from east to west
You remind us
Of the fallacy of lies.
O father of a thousand sons
Sun of our formative years
So you have chosen to slip away?
You tricked us
With your lucidity
Even into your 90s
That you would abide longer.
O what have we now
But memories of your firm strides
The whiff of Erinmore
Betraying your surveilance
As you watched over us
O what have we now
But echoes of your indignant bellow at our misdemeanour
In hallowed chapel or daunting office
Countered with your paternal chuckle
At our antics on the playing fields.
Oh there was the corrective cane
When the fire burned in you
And the furnace of rebellion raged in us
But in wizened reflection time mellowed
You apologised for ‘the harsh discipline’.
Ah
We remember your first car
We remember you driving
In first gear from quarters to gate
Harsh grind of engine all the way
Contrasting with your gentle heart
As you cruised into town.
Alas
You have left us
Not as infants but as men
You taught us
Even as we fought you
But you formed us
Even as we defied you.
As men we now see your grandeur
Yet neither manhood nor the years
Will contain the stifled tears
Our only recourse
To follow your course.
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