Father’s Day: a poem for fathers

It’s Father’s Day. I thought I’d share my favourite poem about fathers.

Unsung by Kei Miller

There should be a song for the man who does not sing

himself – who has lifted a woman from her bed to a wheelchair

each morning, and from her wheelchair to her bed each night;

a song for the man recognised by all the pharmacists, because

each day he has joined a line, inched forward with a prescription

for his ailing wife; there should be a song for this man

who has not sung himself; he is father to an unmarried son 

and will one day witness the end of his name; still he has refused

to pass down his shame to his boy. There should be a song

for the man whose life has not been the stuff of ballads

but has lived each day in incredible and untrumpeted ways.

There should be a song for my father.

Beautiful.

I was privileged to hear Kei Miller read this, and other poems from his anthology A Light Song of Light at The Blue Coat in Liverpool.

Go and find his poems. They are worth it.

A review of the anthology is here: http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/summerreads2013alightsongoflightkeimiller.aspx