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What My Father, Wanted Me to Be
…………………………For My Father, Thomas Yount
…………………………And Later, For My Son, Arlan Thomas Yount
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my grandmother always said
my father had all the luck.
he was in all the right places
at the right time.
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*****
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an electronics engineer,
he installed the first radar ever
on the u.s.s. missouri—
helped build & fly the banshee jet:
also the phantom fighter
for mcdonnell aircraft—
and helped design both spacecrafts
mercury & gemini.
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*****
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one day, I said:
“have you ever seen john glenn.”
he said “sat right next to him at a meeting,
just a few days ago …”
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*****
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how does a high school boy,
and beyond, ever measure up
to where his father’s been.
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*****
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he was a great guy
to throw my arm around.
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*****
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too many years later …
I discovered
he just wanted me,
to be … around.
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by Alan Yount
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…………………….Previously published in: Green’s Magazine (Canada). May 7, 1994
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It’s Free Improv These Days
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I no longer call to talk to my dad –
His hearing is shot
His memory is full of holes
And his ability to follow a line of thought
Is increasingly decreasing
No, these days I call to hear his voice
Just listen to
its emotion and the sound for its own sake
Sometimes I prompt him
With something to let him know I’m there
Fully aware
That someday (ever sooner)
the music of his voice will stop.
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by Dan Franch
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Alan Yount, 71, has written and published poetry for over 50 years. His many poems have appeared over the years in publications such as WestWard Quarterly (where he was invited to be the Featured Writer and Poet for the summer, 2018 issue), Big Scream, Green’s Magazine (Canada), Spring: the Journal of the E.E. Cummings Society (academic journal), Wind, Legend, Roanoke Review, Tidepool, Art Centering Magazine (Zen Center of Hawaii), Wormwood Review, Palo Alto Review, Barefoot Grass Journal, Frontier: Custom & Archetype, Modern Haiku, and The Pegasus Review.
He has been in three anthologies: Passionate Hearts (New World Library), Sunflowers and Locomotives: Songs for Allen Ginsberg (published by Nada Press and the poet David Cope). Alan was one of 31 poets along with Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The third anthology was The Chrysalis Reader.
Alan also plays jazz trumpet, and has led his own dance band. He is a direct descendant of the famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone.
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These are two well-written, heart-wrenching, timely poems for Father’s Day. It is always a pleasure to stumble across work from two writers whose work I have long enjoyed.
Michael. Thanks so much for the comments. I like your poems so much also,
that I always find an image that “strikes a note.” And Dan, I have always enjoyed your poems. The image that got to me was, “I call to hear his voice.” My wife’s father is 85 and has been in memory care for three years. Your poem said it all, and of course, how very, very sad.
Thanks, Michael and Alan. Alan, I noted in a message to Joe that “Being on the same page as Mr. Yount is no small feat.” Fortunately, my dad’s got all his marbles, but they’ve become a bit oblong over the years. In short, he rambles a bit and I just follow along. Both of you, keep on writing and sharing. It’s good for our collective soul –