Father, Dad, Papa! | Ngea Peet

Here he comes again like bad wind
Put off the music, pull the Blinds
Pick up litter, set in place the chairs
Woe betides if unkempt be our hairs Pandemonium like perturbed ants
No doubt he will about something rant.

Approaching footsteps like giant splashes
Tension stands upright for the lashes
Something must always be wrong or misplaced Impeccable must be life in his place
We must be angels in his heaven
Lest we be chastised as heathens.

Up at sunrise breathing out o’ clenched Teeth
What awaits today you cannot cheat
Our father who art in our home
Like the Church Leader in Rome
Dad bends only for the best
Better get ticking without rest.

Papa sees all, hears a pin drop
Deciding on decisions to crop
He stays silent and often in pains
Bent on solutions even if it rains
Fighting daring battles in tears
Often masking the scathing fears

Poor papa, only appreciated when gone
Great elegies and remorse after the gong
Father, dad, papa, now we see the worth
Unfathomed love you were wrought
Authority eludes death kings
Father, dad, papa, in our ears now ring.

Poet's note: Written on June 18, 2018 to all dads, past and present. Father's are generally considered too strict and uncompromising by their kids. Their importance in the family set up is usually recognized post-humously , long after he is dead. This a hommage to father's like me and many others who are only glorified by their, otherwise, recalcitrant kids only after their demise.