My Father’s Son
Born to be a gentle soul
a father’s son I be,
a mother’s scorn
had damaged me,
parental alienation the key.
Her hatred for my father
destroyed the home I knew.
She moved me from that home
and the father who knew me well.
Growing up without the dad
whose love was missed a lot.
Before I died, so many years had passed.
That call was made—
To dad I said, “I love you.”
My memory had not faltered
the things dads teach so well.
In heaven I will watch you dad,
my gentle soul to yours.
This poem is dedicated to my husband and his son. We lost his(our) son 12/26/2016 due to a SUDEP event from Epilepsy. When I wrote this poem, I was thinking a great deal about their relationship and the sadness from both the death and parental alienation. For my husband, he lost his child twice. Our grief is ongoing, yet in this poem I wanted to focus on the gentle person who was his(our) son. Even though he was my step-son,the pain and sadness is not diminished. A child is forever a child to love and cherish.