Re: My Father's House / George J. Dance

On Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 8:37:37 PM UTC-5, W.Dockery wrote:

General-Zod wrote:
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George J. Dance wrote:

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My Father's House

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This is my father's house, although
The man died thirteen years ago.
They said it would be quite all right
To take a drive to see it now.

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Dad laid those grey foundation blocks
And built the whole thing (from a box),
Toiling after each full day's work.
I helped, though I was only six.

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Look, here's the back door I would use
And here's where I'd remove my shoes
To enter; there I'd leave my things
And, when allowed, climb up these stairs.

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In this room I'd wash many a dish,
Gaze out this window, and I'd wish
To be so many other places.
(Wishy-washy? Oh, I guess!)

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Outside, the garden that he grew
Where I would work the summers through,
While watching my friends run and play
Mysterious games I never knew.

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That room's all changed; oh, where is it,
The one chair I was let to sit?
(For boys can be such filthy things.)
Which, the corner where boys were put?

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Oh ... down that hall there is a room
Where I'd be shut (as in a tomb)
After the meal, to make no noise,
To read or play alone, and then

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Lights out: in bed by nine each night,
Some nights wanting to pee with fright,
Face and pyjama bottoms down
As for my father's belt I'd wait.

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Oh, if I were a millionaire
I'd buy my father's house, and there
I'd build a bonfire, oh so high
Its flames would light up all the air.

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~~
George J. Dance
from Logos and other logoi, 2021

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Quite an excellent poem, G.D.

Agreed and seconded.
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;)

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Cool...!