Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge!

PA FERDINAND


(on this man's foundation i build
my political support of feminism)


my father
is a solid stepper
amid a generation
of soft shoers
& scuffling shufflers


was young with
WW II, did not die
nor get discouraged
but rather fought
on both fronts
and unflinchingly brought
the fight back
home, after
korea


a country boy
who walked miles
for school & job
he married the minister's
daughter (who was
a school teacher)
but never went
out to lunch for
class or church,
could sing but usually
kept his baritone
at home


i remember him home
making us work
rising with the sun
and planting food
in the city


i remember him home
waxing floors
on his knees
and requiring his sons
to follow his lead learning
to cook and clean


but mostly
i remember him man
teaching me
consistency: the
importance of principle,
the necessity of
struggle and the
immense beauty
of interrelating
with a good woman


what more could
a son receive
from a father
than the realness
of life lived
like a conscious
African(american)
man!
sho-nuff simply doing
his duty, in his own
context, in his own
space and time.

Written by Kalamu Ya Salaam

<----> SEND THIS POEM TO A FRIEND! <---->

Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge