Deeply Imprinted

Deeply Imprinted

(for Dad on his 65th birthday)

When a son becomes a father

He can’t but look to his own

Father, his own raising, to know

What to do, how to be, why

It all matters, and where to start.

And so have I, and so do I,

And there, in you, I find

Treasured memories of example,

Of work, of respect, of duty,

Of love, the blessing from which

All things flow, and so

In times of doubt or fear,

Of indecision, I can look back

In my memory and see a path,

Not perfect, nor smooth, nor straight,

But worn with footprints of feet

To follow, pressed deeply marked clear

For the burden is heavy to bear,

But each print is a testament

That it has been walked before,

And as my feet follow, now,

And in the future, going forward,

My steps, the fact I take them,

Also shows the path’s promise

Is secure, and not forsaken,

Nor taken, alone, on my own.

Instead, a cloud of fathers and sons

Are present in the relationship

Of we two, and so my Dad,

The love you gave, I cannot

Just give back to you, I do,

But though I do, the real gift,

The real lesson and proof

Of love is the father I am,

The man and teacher I am,

As a reflection of the father,

You are, and as we walk the path,

Of fathers and sons and daughters,

Now together, as two fathers,

I’m glad to carry my burden,

Take my turn, walk those prints

With your arm around me still,

For our steps continue together,

And will forever, Amen.

                                 ~ Rev. Peter T. Atkinson