Father's Day

Oh Father’s Day, you foolish scalawag

Barely one step ahead of Columbus Day 

But lagging miles behind 

Groundhog Day

or Fat Tuesday or National Pizza Day 

Mothers Day, of course, is another matter 

Mothers deserve their own special day

since the rest of their year is 

such a raw deal 

My thinking, of course, might be

out of date 

since it was formed in the nineteen-forties 

The dads in our crowd, 

just back from the war, 

turned their families into military platoons

Dad were three-star generals

Moms, second lieutenants 

The children, buck privates at best

Just one rule obtained:

Obey every command from on high

Do it quickly and perfectly 

Never ask why

Never talk back

The dads had jobs in the factory or the firm

Bringing home the money 

Thus excused from the menial household tasks 

Moms did the cooking, the cleaning,

the bringing up of the children, 

changing their diapers, washing behind the ears 

Although fathers were in charge of discipline

At least the bodily sort 

Usually with a belt or a ruler

Things we learned from our fathers:

Rich people are superior 

Never show weakness

Stand up, don't slouch 

But here I exaggerate

My father did have a fun side 

He took me along 

to chop down our Christmas trees

and pulled the toboggan behind the car 

Best of all, we went to my uncle’s

drugstore after hours

and created whatever 

we wanted at the soda fountain 

Butterscotch, peppermint, fudge ripple

But I can’t remember 

if I ever got a hug  

Those, of course, were the bygone days

Thirty years later

My dad became a grandfather

I give him credit

He grew to be a much better 

grandfather than a father

Engaged with his grandkids

Interested, affectionate, chummy

Times change 

People change with them

Nowadays there are many more reasons
     to celebrate Father's Day