Martha Silano: Nothing I Did
My father said no infinity times, said all As,
no A-minuses. In 6th grade I devised a plan:
if I was perfect, if I made no sound.
Christine Skarbek: Jocelyn
It soon became obvious she could not speak. Finally, after many attempts, I got her name out of her, Jocelyn and finally, she looked at me straight on and said in a whisper, “You know, I used to be pretty. I used to be smart.”
Marco North: Of Fountains and Wells
water holds spirits…water can be holy, and sacred.
Pauletta Hansel: Joy
When we finally sprung my father from the hospital
after days spent staring at the cardio unit’s
cinderblock walls the color of nothing
good, his joy could not be contained.
Martha Silano: Poem that Begins at the Core
A mother who lived to peel apples,
bake the most exquisite pies. Suffuse the air
with delicious love. A father gah-gah for fossils,
mummies, cow manure.
Kimberly Parish Davis: Cheating Songs
If it wasn’t a man singing a song about cheating on his woman, it was a woman singing about how she was going to get her man back from some other woman. In Daddy’s mind, he was the hero of every one of those songs.
Kevin Shafer: Nurturing dads raise emotionally intelligent kids – helping make society more respectful and equitable
All men who support and care for children have a critical role to play in instilling positive social values in future generations.
Judith Alexander Brice: My Papa’s Music
We weren’t a talking family
especially when it came
to discussing why I locked myself
in the bathroom upstairs
Rosaly DeMaios Roffman: Writing Prompt #2 | An Imaginary Phone Call
Make an imaginary phone call to some person or thing to tell them something you never told them.
Rita Sims Quillen: Taste and Other Mysteries
little oily sardines to lay on saltines
which he would make disappear
into the smile under his moustache
Video: Daughter of the Sea
Daughter of the Sea is a cinematic poem evoking a fisherman’s relationship with his daughter and with the sea. Shot in the French town St Jean de Luz.
