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2022-06-17T10:05:40-07:00June 9th, 2021|Parenthood|

Having a dad

Having a dad is green pancakes
for dinner and shoulder rides
and saying goodbye every morning
as we drive away,
while he does an absurd run
beside the car.

Having a dad is long walks
and drawing together
and watching old movies
that no other kid
has ever heard of.

Having a dad is blunt truths
and foot massages
and learning to be funny
by watching him
make everyone
laugh.

I never had one
so I find myself
watching my kids
have a dad
like I would watch
a nature show
about possums.

They fight sometimes
and he can be moody
if he hasn’t slept,
but if I was narrating it,
I would whisper
in that nature-show way,

shh, look closely,
here he goes,
doing it again,
wrapping them
in that feeling
called safe.

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