This poem was dedicated to my best friend and his two sons. It was sparked by a discussion we had about the need for mature male role models in a boy's life.
GROWING UP IS SCARY
Growing up is scary,
And it comes on like the tide-
No power on earth can hold it back.
This then is the task of men:
To show how to navigate life
And not founder on submerged rocks,
Nor run aground on sand bars,
But to keep steady as the current flows
And stay in the middle,
Safe in the deep channel.
A boy must keep both hands on life’s wheel
If he is to become a man of any sort,
And he needs a man’s firm hand on his
If he is to avoid the shoals
And steer his boat safely
Through storm and tempest.
There are places in a boy’s heart
Only a father can touch.
It must be hard to be without a father for guidance. I recall fondly several scrapes in my childhood, teenage years, and even early adulthood where my father stepped in, in his always, very steady way, and saved the day. I learned a great deal from every one of those incidents, and by the way he treated everyone with respect. Every son needs this from his father, and those fathers who abandon their sons should be held to account.
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