by Edgar Guest
My father knows the proper way
The nation should be run;
He tells us children every day
Just what should now be done.
He knows the way to fix the trusts,
He has a simple plan;
But if the furnace needs repairs,
We have to hire a man.
My father, in a day or two
Could land big thieves in jail;
There’s nothing that he cannot do,
He knows no word like “fail.”
“Our confidence” he would restore,
Of that there is no doubt;
But if there is a chair to mend,
We have to send it out.
All public questions that arise,
He settles on the spot;
He waits not till the tumult dies,
But grabs it while it’s hot.
In matters of finance he can
Tell Congress what to do;
But, O, he finds it hard to meet
His bills as they fall due.
It almost makes him sick to read
The things law-makers say;
Why, father’s just the man they need,
He never goes astray.
All wars he’d very quickly end,
As fast as I can write it;
But when a neighbor starts a fuss,
‘Tis mother has to fight it.
In conversation father can
Do many wondrous things;
He’s built upon a wiser plan
Than presidents or kings.
He knows the ins and outs of each
And every deep transaction;
We look to him for theories,
But look to ma for action.
– See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20860#sthash.oIJqejbn.dpuf
Diane,
Did you read that before you posted it? That is a rather obnoxious dig at dads and that’s putting nicely. Edgar Guest must have hated his father (maybe rightly so).
I guess I could look at the poem as a dig at the whole concept of Mothers and Fathers Day. That would be the only redeeming thing to do today.
Oh, dear. I’ll leave it at that.
I did not have a good enough father at all when I was growing up. I wish I had. Who doesn’t? He meant well, but he was too mentally ill and violent to parent effectively.
But I know there is such a thing as “fathers who are effective”, and I do think this poem shows a negative tone towards fathers and men as fathers. As a man, the poem is difficult to digest.
Still, by no means will I ever throw out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to judging Diane’s taste.
Diane is a heroine to educators, teachers, children, and families.
The poem is questionable and ironic on Father’s day.
Luther Vandross – Dance with my Father ( with lyrics)
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=J_mzw2MdIFY&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ_mzw2MdIFY%26feature%3Dyoutu.be