Today, we are going to offer a poem in place of our letter. We hope you enjoy it:
it is not only a noun of course; there is no
exact pronoun to describe it; place it
in a box; give it parameters and limits,
measures and recognition
that idea of being a father
there is not an ounce of
a clear structural framework, there is
no clear definition of what is expected
or needed from one day to the next
that idea of being a father
it is not biology, limited to a quick
act of planting, as pleasurable or
laudable as that might be; not just a continuation
of familial bloodlines be they peasant or noble
that idea of being a father
it is not about the passing of time
and the gaining of wisdom to bestow
it is not about wealth and position
security and prestige
that idea of being a father
it is not about having sons or daughters
grandsons or granddaughters
not about playing baseball or fishing
there is no clear defining activity
that idea of being a father
it is not even an idea or a state of being
it is a verb,
to father
fathering
---Lonnie Buerge
