Days That I Have Known

Tatertot

The days of life are winding down

as I but fear what lies ahead

My son has reached that time in life

that always filled my mind with dread

There's just a year until that day

when I just hope that I may grow

To be the man, I pray I can

as the time comes to let him go

This week we go on vacation

and as we share these times of  joy

Within the bonds of family

he'll spend his last days as a boy

I've done what I set out to do

back so many a year ago

 Instilling in him foundations

of all the things he needs to know

Oh please just let me be gracious

and smile when the day draws near

Then wish him well, as time will tell

if I can overcome my fear

For then my son will be a man

with strength to face the new found dawn

In knowledge that he's not alone

as my heart breaks for all that's gone

Author's Note

I knew this this day would come. It is so near I can taste it. I will walk out to see him off with a smile upon my face. Give him the speech I like to call "what it means to be a man". Tell him to trust his instincts. Never take something for nothing. Never take unfair advantage of another nor let them take unfair advantage of him. Help those who need it and respect all the women in his life. "Son the value of a man lies not in what he owns, but in what he gives to others". Then I'll wave as he sets off, as my heart simply breaks.

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

Warmth and tenderness wash over me in waves as I read this moving piece penned straight from your heart. The values you ask of your son as he sets sail on the winds of life are embedded in his DNA, for he is your son and has learned by watching you embody those values. It will take practice, like riding a bike for the first time takes practice and little bit of blood, but his foundation is strong. May his compass always guide him to a true north, so that he always knows where home is, the place he can always return to, and be fully embraced. Yes, your heart will break, it will never be the same again, but the wonders of watching him live out his life are well worth the pain.

[Tate Morgan]

I thank you very much I am trying my best

[ron]

Its every parents hope that we do right by our children. It sounds like you gave him more than what he needs to lead his life in the right direction. Nice job.

[Tate Morgan]

thank you very kind of you

[ron]

You are most welcome. Keep up the good work as Father and a poet.

[Tate Morgan]

I will do my best thanks

[Richard Layne]

I don't what to say. The poem, your commenting on every single review. I also dread the day my oldest is just at tht stage of kinda giving up on childish things but still being my little girl. I'm sure for you it will all work out-- hold onto the memories and make new ones with him

[Tate Morgan]

I wrote of the same thing for my daughter in the poem The roots of Love

[Jadey]

Wonderful! very heart warming! I am pretty sure he grows up very well Tate with you guiding him!

[Tate Morgan]

He and I are about to head back after a week and a half at myrtle beach it has been fun

[Jadey]

wow! great! Father & Son bonding!

[TL Boehm]

I just sent mine off two weeks ago. He moved out. I bawled like a baby.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I am sure I will hurt just as bad

[Eddie Phillips]

I have four boys and I know this day will come at some point. However it is the pinnacle of our teaching. It is the test of how we raised them to be good men. He will still come to you when new tests arise and life throws curve balls. The initial elementary journey is over. He will move on to higher learning but you will always be his greatest teacher. I am moved yet again by your words brother.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you brother it is all we can hope for in life

[Lourisa]

Filled with a well known sadness. Such beautiful words to describe this very emotional period.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I am grateful to you

[Nix]

This is an amazingly emotional poem that nearly everyone can relate to somehow. I felt myself coming very close to tears while reading this. Amazing poem.

[Tate Morgan]

Thanks I am not on much today as in on vacation but I waned to thank you

[Foxemerald]

This poem is an interesting study in the contexts of life stages, and very provoking for me as well. It causes me to turn the notion over and over of past stories and their vulnerability, because many of them bleed with raw emotion. Documenting each particular moment is essential at times, but an extreme obstacle that takes a courageous heart to overcome.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I am not on but a minute as I'm on vacation

[Traci]

A beautiful heartfelt write. Loving and letting go, something all parents can relate to. No matter how old he gets, he will always be your baby boy. You've instilled great values, and now it's his turn to go out into the world and make his dad proud. As for you Tate, it's a difficult transition, but you'll be fine my friend. Stay strong and savor every moment spent with him.

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you I am having a good time with him at the beach

[Shane Winchester]

That's a beautiful testament to your son and a fathers love. I must say it is a life I wish I could have had. It is a life I have dreamed about. Having never known my father, or really only knowing what a bitter woman would tell me of him I often got into trouble at school making up stories about my father being this or my father being that. But when it comes right down to it, the words you have so eloquently penned are all a boy really needs. I fear having kids of my own even as my wife is four months pregnant. I hope I will not turn out like my father. I hope I will be able to touch his life and teach him things like these. Thanks for posting words that perhaps you didn't know would encourage a man like me.

[Tate Morgan]

My own father was nothing to brag about And yet I manger to over come that so can u