Monday, June 20, 2011

I am a father

in this myth
I am a father
  and eternal old man

new one
first one
carried
by your mother

helpless I stand by

imperfect

limited in the wisdom
of this human condition

I look into your room
                    and wait.




Written on June 18th 1999
He turns 12 tomorrow.
Posted by at

18 comments:

  1. erinJune 20, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    ollie, i feel as though i've just seen you in a crowd and i've stopped on your face thinking, i know this man, i know this man. yes! i know this man, for i am he. limited in the wisdom
    of this human condition.

    xo
    erin

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  2. SusannahJune 20, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    Oh this is really special... beautiful!

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  3. FireblossomJune 20, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    Do monks and Abbesses customarily have children? Hey, just asking!

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  4. Brother OllieJune 20, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Sure...just join the right order.

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  5. Human ParadoxJune 20, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    Great one Olie.

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  6. Sherry Blue SkyJune 21, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    So touching, Ollie. He turns twelve. Wow, it all goes so amazingly fast. Just yesterday my youngest was twelve and now she is 35!!!!!! THIRTY FIVE! (I just freaked myself out!) I love this poem, with its familiar feelings of parenthood.

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  7. UnknownJune 21, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    Oh, I know that feeling of imperfection and being limited. Ugh. It can be so frustrating. We just dropped off our 12 year old in DC for the week. It has been a hard time for me to let him go, let him grow up. It's such a double-edged sword, parenting is. Standing there, fighting back tears. I knew this was right, was good, but it was tearing my heart up realizing it was the first of many steps to separate. So hard, but worth it all.

    Beautifully done :)

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  8. AnonymousJune 22, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    "helpless I stand by" yup...evocative stuff x

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  9. UnknownJune 22, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Brings forth good thought, the 'helpless' sideline watch, great write ~ Rose

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  10. Pat HattJune 22, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    Nicely done, as the sidelines have to be taken, in order for all to find their place.

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  11. JinksyJune 22, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    So each finds their own way...

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  12. hedgewitchJune 22, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Nothing like a child to make you dig deep every day. All your usual clarity and subtlety in this one...coming here always clears my head.

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  13. ClaudiaJune 22, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    mine are 16, 19 and 20 now and there were times i felt helpless as well..but that's not really bad...just very honest and all ways are wide open from there..

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  14. JJ Roa RodriguezJune 22, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    if there will be a school to perfect raising a child... it will be filled in the first day... LOL! as long as you are doing what your conscience is telling you to be right, that's enough!

    JJRod'z

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  15. BelindaJune 22, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    Oh, I love this! The magnanimity of a little one born and the humility in the way they rock our world.

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  16. dustusJune 22, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    I am not a father, but I can image such a moment when reality just hits one: I don't have all the answers. What am I doing? A tender poem.

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  17. Ann GrenierJune 23, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    A lovely mystery. I don't know what to make of your reference to the 12 year old boy in 1999. Before reading that, my interpretation was spiritual/religious. But I see that your play on words and form can be made to work on many levels. Wonderful!

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  18. Bethany AnnJuly 10, 2011 at 11:12 PM

    wow. awesome. (and i don't throw that word around lightly)

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Thanks for helping with the development of Olsonomics.

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