caring for the other

 

Fatherhood

our genes can hardwire us,

I wonder how our culture hardwires us?

in particular, how does the parenting we receive

create our stance toward other people?

somewhere I learned to see the child

and find that within them

that is of trueness to self,

a self that cares

and can risk owning that care,

I have found that I can be a teacher

and get paid for helping the process

move more surely, or reboot, or reconfigure,

I also love to be a friend to those youngest

who are enormously powerful 

while also being enormously fragile,

fatherhood, like motherhood, is a subset

of that caring stance our species needs

to survive and prosper,

I celebrate fathers this Father’s Day:

my own father, myself, my boys,

I also celebrate any who give themselves

to caring and acting upon the caring,

the individual is vital

but more vital when enhanced in relationship,

more true to who we need to be,

Happy Father’s Day to anyone

who sees a way forward for another,

and helps them find the path

that calls to the best within them.

by Henry H. Walker

June 18, ‘21