Poem of the Day: “Papa” by Mary Soon Lee, Frequent Contributor

Papa

Mary Soon Lee

Before cell phones, email, tweets,

I remember conversation,

the back-and-forth of it:

how my father drove across Europe

without even the radio on,

hours unrolling behind us

filled with debate, questions;

his unfailing delight

in hearing me recite

four lines of a poem by Robert Frost,

lines that he loved

but couldn't remember;

even our silences communal.

  

Poet’s Notes: When I was a child, once every two years we took the ferry from England to France, and then my father would drive us across Europe. We had roadside picnics; we went on a gondola in Venice; we walked inside an Alpine glacier; we played Scrabble in hotel bedrooms. But if I could revisit a single hour from that time, I would sit in the car while Papa drove and hear his voice again.

Editor’s Note:  I enjoy the rhythm of this piece as much as its timely and important message.  The final line is stunning in its beauty, and the hard rhyme between lines 8 and 9 is a nice surprise.  “Papa” was first published in Uppagus #10, February 2015 and was a finalist in the recent Songs of Eretz Poetry Award Contest.