My Father

by Alicia Villafane

My father was a merchant marine,
He traveled the seven seas,
Saw countries all over the world,
Italy, Spain, France, Israel, England,
Egypt and more.

My father was a chef,
Cooked meals that were extraordinary,
The smell of the food
Made your palettes moist,
Until we sat for the meal.

When I think of my father
I think of special occasions,
He was our hero for serving us
meals that were beautiful and sumptuous.

My father was gentle and kind,
And mainly spared the rod,
Instead he would lecture us
for an hour,
a fate worse than the hand.

The papers he read were many
Every morning while drinking his coffee,
The stories he told were amazing
From the cultures and lands he traveled.

My father was a reflective man,
Absorbing the environ around him,
He mastered five languages
And he availed himself of them at his command.

My father treated people with dignity,
No matter their social or economic station in life,
He always stated wealth or social station
Are not important,
What is important is the man.