Titling My Dad by the Rolling Stones

The last bit of writing I did to earn my Associate's Degree. Creative Writing 202. I owe everything to my biggest fan. He just happens to be "their" biggest fan...read on.

He was his Mother’s Little Helper.

The youngest of six.

Born into war, a country united . . . the 1940’s.

 

He was much like a Jigsaw Puzzle.

His scattered pieces and jagged edges, he was not one to conform.

Raised on television, he watched a war half a world away . . . the 1950’s.

 

He was the Prodigal Son.

Life dealt him a Hand of Fate, his draft card.

His belief in Christ, was an ode to his generation.

War, greed, civil rights, freedom . . . the 1960’s.

 

He found a Connection, Going to a Go-Go

where she was a dancing waitress. My mother.

He was Happy.

Wedded bliss, hippie love, the end of a useless war . . . the 1970’s.

 

He knew the truth, You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Unemployment lines, picket signs, standing fireside next to a fifty-gallon drum.

Recession, politics, the freezing cold war . . . the 1980’s.

 

He had no Sympathy for the Devil.

Living to work, working to live,

He was a Slave to his family.

Economic recovery, political power, a war in the desert . . . the 1990’s. 

 

He let her go, the Child of the Moon. Against his better judgment.

She was one Crazy Mama. He watched her Coming Down Again,

and heard her Confessing the Blues.

He knew her Honest Man wasn’t so honest after all,

and when his Little Baby and her Empty Heart, were Pretty Beat Up,

and she’d had her 19^th Nervous Breakdown,

he was there for the Aftermath.

Distance, divorce, death, a war on land, at sea, at home . . . the 2000’s.

 

In 2015 he is the strength for those

Always Suffering.

The patriarch of a dying family, an Emotional Rescue.

Like a Rolling Stone,

One More Time

he pushes play on his stereo,

Undercover of the Night.

Author's Note

The review of this poem by my class member stated, "I’m not quite sure what it’s called, but what you did was beautiful and I’ve never seen it done before." Hope you all enjoy this very sentimental piece.