"In Toga-Armor Clad" (poem) ... My Daughter's Scholarship Entry
When a man first becomes a father, his child is helpless and capable of nothing. And so, he sets about the seemingly Herculean task of teaching her all she'll need to know in order to survive. He strives to make her strong, wise and independent. He teaches her to think and have a manner of comportment conducive to earning the respect and loyalty of her peers.
As he and she grow older, somewhere in the back of his mind there begins to form a notion that he is making himself redundant. That, one day, upon learning all that he has to teach, she will no longer need him. It is a terrifying thought and so he represses it, reassuring himself that such a day is long in the future.
But, sooner or later, the future arrives.
My daughter, Katie, is now half way through Grade 12. She is a spectacular student and next year she will be headed off to university. To help defray the cost, she is, like so many others, in the midst of applying for scholarships. One scholarship for which she applied required the writing of a poem. For those who don't know, "QuillFire" is a username reflective of a passion ... I am a poet. And, perhaps not surprisingly, that passion has passed from father to daughter.
The scholarship required participants to write a poem of appreciation to someone to whom they owed a debt of gratitude. Participants were to use, as a writing prompt, the title of Walt Whitman's most famous poem, "O Captain, My Captain," written in tribute to the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
This was Katie's entry:
In Toga-Armor Clad
He taught me math, the hallowed path,
My tutor, since Grade 1,
Taught too to dare in Science Fairs,
Good many have I won.
Taught me to write, with words ignite,
Use sparks to start a flame,
When arguing your argument,
Must words an insight frame.
Archimedes, Aristotle,
Alexander, called The Great,
Athena, Aphrodite,
Of men, their gods and fate.
How to dress with it finesse,
So too, to throw a punch,
To start a fire and spot a liar,
Believe in it a hunch.
Say ‘please’ before you ask it,
Say ‘thank you’ when received,
Tell no lies nor truth disguise,
So that you’ll be believed.
Be loyal to your loved ones,
Find time for them, your friends,
If bond you break, don’t bond forsake,
Say sorry … make amends.
And of the tricks of politics,
Things rarely as they seem,
One finds Virtue in the middle,
And Vice it at extremes.
My teacher and my tyrant,
In toga-armor clad,
My mentor and my captain,
My hero … and my Dad.
The future ... has arrived.
Quill
You guys know the QuillDrill. Be verbose ... but articulate.
And remember ...
Go Love A Starving Poet
For God's sake ... they're starving!
ǝɹǝɥ sɐʍ ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴
@themadcurator,
Curator curates what creator he crafts,
Some words they bring tears, some words they bring laughs,
The tears open hearts, laugh lowers defense,
A man makes a friend ... the cost was but cents.
.
.
You can be as bloody raving mad as you like ... just keep dropping those dimes. :-)
Thanks for the support, MC.
Quill
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P.S. @themadcurator, @ngc, @berniesanders ... there's a poem in a comment (@joanstewart) at the bottom of these comments that deserves to be at the top. Would one of you guys consider giving it some juice?
There is an expression about trees and apples that I think applies here 😛
@dollarsandsense,
I think you're right ... and the thought of it warms my heart to know people think so. She is my highest compliment. :-)
Quill
Very good example of the apple falling not far from the tree, you both have done well.
@sultnpapper,
Thanks Sult. She does her father proud.
Quill
Thank you for the afternoon cry :) My heart swells for such a loving and well-deserved tribute! Nice job dad ... you raised a great one there <3
Submitted to c-squared as well.
@lynncoyle1,
Hey Lynn.
You can't blame this one (cry) on me. For once ... I'm innocent. :-) Katie's a great gal and I'm very proud of her. If I weren't such a tough guy, I could admit to getting glassy-eyed as well.
Thanks for the c-squared submission. C-Squared is one of the things Steemit is doing right. I desperately wish some whales would pull their delegations from bidbots and use it instead to vote the curation trails of manual curators.
I just had a idea ... write a poem about "blank" curators ... I need a good adjective. Anyone have any ideas?
Quill
Hard to know what to say. You must be so proud, @quillfire. What a magnificent tribute to a father. That poem gave me goosebumps.
Clearly, you might feel redundant, but she doesn't. As a daughter, I am sad I didn't have more adult time with my dad. Gone 19 years and I still miss him. I, too, am a Daddy's girl.
@fionasfavourites,
Hi Fiona.
I got goosebumps too. That's not an easy poem to write and I know how much work went into it. All those things she mentioned, we've talked about each of them a thousand times and so the poem is loaded with memories.
You know, it's funny, despite all the feminist-inspired political-correctness, I've never once heard either a girl or a woman disclaim the moniker, "Daddy's Girl." Indeed, any female lucky enough to sport the label wears it like a badge of honor.
This is the kind of stuff that gets to us tough guys. :-)
Quill
Ironically, it is because of my father I learned to - his words - stand on my own two feet.
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Amazing job. I am sure she'll get the scholarship. Not to get mushy, but it feels really good when you have some sort of confirmation that you have done well.
Awesome job Dad 😁
@tryskele,
I hope she gets it too ... $1,000.
It wasn't an easy poem to write and she obviously put a lot of work into it. I've been teaching her the finer points of poetic technique for years but I was shocked at how well she did. It is flawless. Even if she doesn't win, the impact it had on me was worth a million dollars.
Quill
What an amazing poem from her to you. You must be a proud dad. I can imagine you were crying when she gave it you.. I know I would :)
@delishtreats,
Hey Delish.
Amazing .... yes.
Proud ... ferociously.
Cried ... I am made of steel.
Quill
Not even one little tear? ;)
@delishtreats,
Steel. :-)
Quill
What a wonderful tribute to the Dad @quillfire the daughter became his own.
What my Dad gave me around age 16....
To My Daughter
Wishing her a successful year ahead in preparing for her future.
@joanstewart,
OMG Joan ... I was expecting something hokey. That was GOOD!!!
The whole poem is masterfully crafted and the theme woven as if a tapestry. I was going to do a pull-quote to highlight this part or that ... but the WHOLE POEM is a pull-quote!
Absolutely beautiful.
Your Ol' Man has chops.
I gave my daughter a poem on her 16th birthday ... she says it's the best gift she's ever received (as if she had a choice) ... it's a couple of paragraphs down:
https://steemit.com/contest/@quillfire/my-favorite-person-writing-contest-by-zoexantelamv
Scroll through the comments on this post ... I'm warmed to see that the Daddy-Daughter thing is such a big deal for so many daughters. :-)
Quill
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@blockurator, @jaynie, @fionasfavourites, @lynncoyle1, @nickyhavey, @foxyspirit, @felt.buzz, @manoldonchev, @dollarsandsense, @tryskele, @byn, @mariannewest, @brittandjosie @delishtreats, @beautifulbullies @kaerpediem, @appreciator ... have you guys seen this poem? This deserves to be on the ceiling ... and Joan's one of us.
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I would request that EVERYONE who sees this comment to, please, UPVOTE IT ... it deserves to be at the TOP of the Comments.
You are so kind, yes poetry says it all, I have the original stuck in a book and retyped to share the words.
Both my parents were keen on writing, my Dad did quite a script during the war years up north, Mum wrote a few good posts about growing up in her childhood, published in local newspaper.
Every father should give a meaningful poem to a daughter at 16, very meaningful whether written by Dad or not, it really is something cherished forever.
@quillfire
I missed that beautiful December post because I was preoccupied with happenings for the holidays. Thank you for sending me to look at it. You and Katie are privileged to have each other and your relationship is one to treasure. I am sure it will survive her paramours. You will forever be her Dad.
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That is beautiful, @joanstewart. A treasure. Have you considered compiling and sharing your parents' writing - with photographs of the original manuscripts? Would make a fantastic blog series.
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The entire poem was amazing, but that last part,
That had to have left you a bit teary eyed, eh? How absolutely wonderful that she has so much awareness and appreciation for the things you've done for her. Awesome job, dad!
@byn,
Hey Byn.
We're very close and have been since Day 1. Our minds are so closely linked it's a bit eerie. We finish each others sentences and when we start brainstorming, it's a spectacle worthy of popcorn. It's like we can sense each other's thoughts.
It's funny ... I'm the stereotypical patriarch everyone's always complaining about ... but look what it's produced. A young woman that feminists would use as a poster-girl ... but one who is also stridently anti-feminist. Indeed, 90% of her Straight A girlfriends are similarly inclined.
And it's not just us. Every one of the "squared-away" girls I know has one thing in common ... a really good relationship with their Dads. It seems to effect every aspect of their lives: Academics; emotional stability; self-confidence; dating (they're all extremely picky ... something that all the other Dads have noticed as well) ... and general happiness.
Nothing in that statement, of course, is meant to diminish the extremely important role of great Moms but, for whatever reason, there seems to be something about the Father-Daughter relationship that makes or breaks them. Maybe it's the corny Dad Jokes. :-)
Parenting ... and extensive tutoring ... has made me a great believer in the traditional nuclear family (I'm not religious so that's a conclusion based purely upon empirical observation). Nature built in checks-and-balances that social engineering is failing miserably to replicate. I've witnessed a lot of heart-breaking situations ... perhaps, someday, I'll share a few.
Quill
Oh man! You must be prouder than a proud thing on a proud day marching in the proud parade in Proudsville. She is amazing
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@felt.buzz,
Mate ... THAT is EXACTLY how proud I am. :-)
Quill