A Father's Strength

I watched my mother cry at times,
And we hugged, and shared the pain,
But who can fathers turn to
When they're bent hard with life's strain?

To keep his tears from softening
The armour he maintained,
He bottled up his hurt and wrapped
His wounds in cellophane;
There they stayed, there they made
A load that grew in size,
Until he knew, just one more hurt
Would cause him to capsize;

And now it came, another loss,
Another weight to bear;
A sigh at first,
The dam then burst,
No longer did he care;
No longer could he be a rock,
A hero, strong and tough —
He felt the hammer hit the stone,
It broke to pebbles rough;

Unwrapped and laid bare by the flood,
His tears completely spent,
He gathered up his courage,
His armour, now all bent,
And began to build another wall,
To keep his courage safe —
A shelter for his weathered heart,
His washed and bandaged faith.

We tend to think that men can cope,
No emotional displays,
But, the weight of the world
Is too heavy a load
For any one person to carry alone,
And the wisest words you could ever say
Are in the tears that we share today.
  Edie Batstone