They have eyes of blue and hearts of gold.
Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone.
They are of me, yet profoundly Other than me.
Their dependence decreases, moment by moment, choice by choice, as personality and character coalesces. Soul becomes known. Small round bodies, unsure, become angular, strong and elegant.
Hints of the ancestors glimpsed, reflected in appearance,
posture, and mannerism.
Shadows of their mother and I emerge as different facets turn,
reflected in the light of their living.
See the man arise beneath the surface of the boy.
Hints of the woman foreshadowed in the girl.
Each unique and other worldly as a snowflake,
yet familiar as my own breath.
I am startled to recognize their autonomy –
their separateness from me.
And in that sacred space between the roles we play out in Time, flashes of their glory leave me awed.
They are my equal yet better than I.
Recognition of their immortality, the deity inherent in their volition saddens, yet brings strange comfort. I grieve the blow to my ego.
I have much less dominion over them than I imagine,
yet I am greatly more important to them than I know.
They are neither damned by my weakness
nor necessarily elevated by my substance.
They are free and I am humbled.
I am Daddy to these three souls, at least for now.
And within the bandage of Time they are to me what they can be to no other and I am to them what no other can be.
While inhabiting the boundaries of this dressing we play out appointed roles.
Yet in Eternity we will have had and shall ever be One.
They have eyes of blue and hearts of gold.
Those have been and will ever be constant through the metamorphosis of flesh, circumstance, and experience.
Those same eyes which gazed up to me at the dawn of their journey will look down upon me at the ending of mine.
And yet our hope holds fast that when Time is finally swallowed by Eternity we will then know as we have been known.
We will recognize and finally comprehend the glory
of the everlasting souls with which we have journeyed.
Hearts pure, refined, and utterly alive.
Then together we can all play once more in the presence of the One who has watched over us all.
Your Daddy loves you very much.
But, I love you more.
I love your stuff Plato!
Thank you my brother from another mother
I have sat with this, and listened many times. It may well be my favorite of yours. The sense of being privy to something so sacred, is awe inspiring and supremely special.
It came from a deep place in me. Maybe one that is true. It is indeed sacred and holy ground for me. You are welcome here
Glad to see you’re getting your house rearranged! Just checking the comments for you to see if they work right now. Good to talk to you this morning. DON’T GET SICK!!! 😀
Yep, dude. Everything seems to be in order now.
Great! I need to post the guys info
Love
Ditto… 😉
So so beautiful. Xoxo
Hey sweet lady. How’s the ocean?
It’s perfect. Just perfect. 🙂
Wish I could come and you could teach me about it. Do you like to fish?
I love the Pacific Ocean. Really all oceans. Not sure that I could teach you anything. I can only share my experience. If you ever find yourself in California I’d be happy to be your guide. I haven’t fished enough to know if I like it or not. :-). Fishing off our pier is common year round. I do like to check out what they catch.
I love pier fishing and then cooking what I catch
I think I fixed the mobile. Do you mind checking for me?
So much better!!! I don’t have any trouble reading, liking or commenting on your fabulous posts. 🙂
Very good. Thank you for checking.
This is beautiful Plato! ❤️
Morning my friend!
A good morning to you!!! ☀️
Really beautiful, brother. I’d like I could say more, but after reading it for the third time i’m still speechless…
That you would say that steals my words and replaces them with gratitude. Grace and peace to you my friend. Thank you for being here.
A true gift of your Love for your Children, they only have to look in your eyes to know how much you love them. These words will be with them forever as will your love wherever you may be. A Man with such love in his heart and his Soul.
I have many failings my sweet princess but I do love those kids.
So beautiful. what a wonderful gift to give your children.
I wanted them to know something of the person behind the role I played in their life. I think they will understand it better in twenty years or so.
Indeed. Wisdom comes with age. And with having your own children 🙂
Yes mam
Beautiful words.
Nothing compared to the girl
Beautiful
I always told them that” Your Daddy loves you but I love you more”. Makes me happy and sad at once. The oldest in married the middle boy is in college the baby girl is driving and Daddy is getting grey. 🙂 Thank you so much for reading and saying something especially about this one.
This is absolutely amazing. Im sure they have it hanging up and as you see your ode to them blossoming on their walls you again stand in awe.
Becoming a father I absolutely loved these lines
“They are neither damned by my weakness
nor necessarily elevated by my substance.
They are free and I am humbled.
I am Daddy[…]”
well done my friend.
It’s also where most of your body heat escapes from!
My guess is they know in the deeps of their souls just what kind of father they have in you. You know there’s nothing more important than that in a child’s life. HL used to pray over the kids when they were young (pre-junior high age). I would read the bedtimes stories, he would put them to bed. He always laid his hand on their head when he prayed for them. I hope someday they realize the significance of that. No matter what else happens on your journey, writing that poem for them is something very special.
the head is where the blessing is given
Ok, I got it. Yeah. it does make a difference. That’s very beautiful. Your kiddos must feel very loved and special to you. I really like this poem.
They think im special . . . like the olympics 🙂
This is what I’m thinking about: Your Daddy loves you very much. But, I love you more.
I’m confused about the two references. Is it the children saying they love you more? Forgive my, my friend, I’m a bit slow sometimes.
I am their daddy in my role i play. but as pure souls under god, as Teal I love them more. ITs something I have told them or signed on letters or cards. “Your daddy loves you, but I love you more.”
It makes more sense the other way but i didnt use my name
No it is my children’s eyes which gazed up at me when they were born or young and then will look down on me when I die
So the line above is not you AND your soul (her)? You and God the father?
So I’m trying to get a perspective on this. YOU are daddy, SHE is your soul?
“Those same eyes which gazed up to me at the dawn of their journey will look down upon me at the ending of mine.” That is so profound…
That was written for my children. They all have a framed coppy
Good morning friend! What a wonderful gift to give your children! A piece of your self. I really liked the “Your Daddy loves you but I love you more part.” You’re no longer a figure, but a whole human. Not that we ever get to physically leave the role as parent, but it feels right on the day I take my 18 year old for the driving test. Well, actually he will be taking me through the squalls and black ice on the highway. This is a beautiful companion piece to go with your previous piece about aging, when you take your blog and publish the book and CD compilation. Nudge, nudge, hint, hint… 🙂
Morning sweet girl. 🙂 I had a lady print and frame one for each of the kids and decorate them with sports and art and music that represented their different interests. On theirs I signed ” but Teal loves you more.” I am so glad you got that. Its probably the most important part of what I wanted them to know. They liked it but I think they will understand it better in twenty years or so. Much love. Teal
Yeah, my boys are getting things that used to fly over their heads before when they were part of the pack. Happy New Year Dear Man!
You too sugar
Big Fat Grin with dimples