Daddy,
I am proud to be your son.
I have a number of gifts that I’ve been privileged enough to discover, while other gifts lie dormant waiting to be tapped into.
As you know one of my uncanny talents happen to be the spot on impersonation that I can do of you, my recollections of your soliloquies rival anything that can be tendered by anyone in the family.
Imitation is the purest form of flattery.
I admire you Daddy, not because you are perfect, as perfection was never something that I needed. I just needed YOU.
And consistently you rose to the occasion to fortify my constitution.
Perhaps it is because you had to dig deeper into the proverbial bag of fathering in dealing with me than you did with anyone else.
But, I’m not keeping score anymore, as you are an essential element that I cannot quantify with words alone.
You never made me feel as if I was broken.
Even when I pushed the boundaries in school.
When my suspensions from school became routine, you stood with me.
When those suspensions morphed into expulsions, you pushed harder.
Compelling me to dig deeper still.
The very act of you believing in me was my saving grace.
What you did was nothing short of heroic.
Your soliloquies continue to echo loudly and they are tantamount to the gospel as they have served as my compass…
To this very day.
“Boy… Keep your nose in a book.”
“People will use words to define you… Learn bigger words so you can beat them at their game and define yourself.”
“Stay off of the street.”
“The only gang you need to concern yourself with is the Patterson’s.”
You told me once that words would allow me to change the trajectory of my life – and not unlike the young man who adhered to your mandates decades ago, I believe.
Shun P. Writes... dot com 