The Ironist

Differing Perspectives

Upon Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, the dad is not on a pedestal. He’s mid-step, caught in the motion of leaving, watching his son become a man. A dad speaks- hesitant, unfinished, proud. There are five kinds of love here, and none of them are easy. This poem is not to celebrate a dad, but to remember one. Maybe your dad. Maybe the dad you are. Maybe the dad you’ll never quite become.

Oh please,

Be kind,

And remember me.

Many dads before me,

Tears in their eyes,

Have had to leave.

No, they weren’t ready.

Motion frozen, mid-step

Caught unexpected.

The cost, to them

So high

Task incomplete.

But it’s too late.

There is no time.

No going back.

One day,

One day soon,

I’ll be gone.

You’re on your way now

You’ll make it

I should have done more.

From those first steps

To where you stand!

And so much more.

I am proud,

Honoured, yet left behind

Job undone.

Oh please,

Be kind,

And remember me.

I did give

What little

Counsel I had.

Of the path to follow

It’s hard, I know,

To balance

What needs to be done

But always, always

Let go of the hurt.

Good luck,

Work hard, my son

I love you.

 

Author

The Little Tanagra: Part 2

The Little Tanagra: Part 2

Previously in Part 1, Hara writes about young Arsinoe growing into a woman of remarkable talents at the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron. But longing for freedom, she begins to plan her escape.     Arsinoe took longer each day to return from her...

The Little Tanagra: Part 1

The Little Tanagra: Part 1

We are delighted to introduce a new serialized work of literary fiction from Dr. Hara Papatheodorou: a fairy tale that reimagines the origins of the celebrated Tanagra figurines in ancient Greece.   In the small village of Tanagra, in Boeotia, there lived a poor...

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS…

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS…

Starting in April 2026, The Ironist is starting a running monthly series of articles on the English language written by our very own contributor Peter Scotchmer, a retired English teacher. Polonius: ‘What is the matter you read, my lord?’ Hamlet: ‘Words, words,...

Skinny Legs and All: The Seriousness of the Absurd

Skinny Legs and All: The Seriousness of the Absurd

Talking objects, messy love, art, philosophy, and global conflict. All in one book. “In the haunted house of life, art is the only stair that doesn’t creak.” Over time I have come to believe that the higher the element of fantasy in a book, the more serious it often...