The Greatest Dad Ever

This is a poem I wrote about my dad and it tells the whole story of my dad and me and my love for him. Friday, April 23 would be his 116th birthday. He was born in 1905 in Ranka, Latvia.

It all began when I clutched your finger real tight

and you looked at me with such delight.

I guess you and mom looked at me like a small miracle,

coming to you so late in life.

The romance was on for you and me,

what precious, precious things memories are.

On the hill in Owl’s Head Park,

playing Blind Man’s Bluff,

catching ball -

swinging on the swings.

Hand in hand and ever onward,

building snowmen until dark.

As the editor for the Latvian newspaper ”Laiks” or ”Time”,

you had Thursdays free from work.

Those were our days -

zoos, carousels, amusement parks.

The movies or walks in Manhattan’s parks.

Everywhere and anywhere,

this tall man and this one small little girl.

Mom thought we’d gone bats,

the day she came from work,

to see a tall grown man dancing on a street corner,

with a little girl laughing with glee.

It never ceased to amaze me,

the patience you had,

on the rug coloring in a coloring book,

showing me what Elvis looked like to you on T.V.,

never thought dad could move that way.

I wanted to learn to blow bubbles,

Bazooka bubble gum was all the rage.

You learned how to do it yourself

and taught me real quick.

I guess it only took around ten pieces,

once I learned not to spit them out.

Summer in the Catskills,

no hot city for your little daughter,

while you and mom worked.

I played and ran among the pines,

weekends it was you and I,

on the raft in the lake,

hunting for frogs and toads

and trying to catch grasshoppers in the weeds.

Walks along a country road,

a stop at the local country bar,

upon a stool, I sat perched like on a cliff.

Root beer for me and cold beer for you.

Summer treats not forgotten,

picking mushroom in the forest.

Things I wish I could remember,

but for now, can’t recall.

Then it was all over,

like the end of a movie.

Ten years we had the joy of knowing one another,

ten years and I longed for at least a dozen more.

Can’t believe how time has run by,

bet you and mom are dancing among those stars.

While I’ll reach out a hand for you,

down here below

and send you lots of hugs and kisses -

for I miss you so.