My Dad was a Travelling Man So much so that even when he settled down Promised Mum that hed be home at nights Knew she couldnt make it through them Without someone to hold on tight He Drove Truck for a living It let him be his own boss He said it was because He was allergic to formen That when hovered Hanging over his shoulder He broke out in anger Which he puctuated By telling me That He turned in His last resignation With his fist. And so he drove And he liked to drive No one bothered him As long as he got things done Because thats what you did And hed expect no less of someone else He held honour more important than rank Character more important than clothes And a Persons Word to be their net worth To him a promise was as good as an oath A handshake was as good as a signature And a coffee, dinner, or a piece of pie Maybe a tank of gas Was all hed ever asked for When kith and kin Would ask him What he wanted for his help He taught me How to navigate my world To read a map, To read a Perlys Guide To load the first things last To trace a route back to the beginning To take my bearings when Im lost He taught me how to tell when someone lied And how to know when they spoke truthfully And a little about how to respond to each He taught me poker How to Bluff and Read a Bluff That changing up my Tells Could work as was well as the stoic face And to read the odds not just the people Only to bet what you afford to lose And that if people are playing fairly Eventually is every one is dealt A Real Good Hand As well as some really bad ones And Jacks over nines Was worth betting on How taught me how to wait When it was wise And how to move fast When it was needed And how to fish Without caring If you ever caught a bite And how celebrate the times you did. Sometimes wed have fish and beans for breakfast At other times wed be digging through the cooler For the wieners we brought just in case Because freedom needs a backup plan He taught me how to tend a fire To make it grow when needed To keep it small when heeded To stir the embers into ash As it dies down And to keep Some water round Just in case Oh yes, and how to stomp And why boots work than bare feet When it comes to kicking coals And why its good to choose A strong and steady Stick Before you even start And he taught me To defend myself Well actually The story went Heres what you do, if an attacker has you cornered. Just a few moves really Three in all Some things hed picked up in the army A little hand to hand That Id later be told Was Martial Arts My Daughters Father A mistake I dont explain And a sometimes Martial Artist Trained to Brown In some underground Garage Turned wide eyed and bright The day he thought to show me What to do if there was ever trouble And so after breaking every hold He tried to put on me (I did a lot of wrestling with my brother) And putting it down To the fact That hed held back Because if he hadnt... Thats when he decided To get a gist of what I already knew And so I showed him what my dad showed me And on seeing it said horsely He taught you how to kill And all I thought Was That hed trusted me Not to know it Until I needed to.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 17:06:50 +0000
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