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Happy Father’s Day, Dad: A poem for you!
Happy Father’s Day to all Dads! It’s a day to celebrate me: a proud father of three, grandfather of six and great-grandfather of two! And it’s a day to remember as well; I miss my Dad, Vernice. And I miss my father-in-law, Kenn Robertson.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my Dad lately and how much he gave me. This poem is about his greatest gift. Thank you, Dad!
He Set Me Free
He was hard working, dedicated, disciplined;
Ended school after 8 grades, all As:
His dad insisted he go to work
Farming for his uncle.
In war he wanted to serve in the Navy.
They said “no” – color blindness disqualifies.
Farming was essential then too:
The troops needed food.
A Master Electrician apprenticeship came his way.
He had to say “no” – low pay for too long
Wouldn’t put food on the table
For a new, growing family.
He farmed for Uncle, then Dad, then moved
When war was done, to a farm 20 miles
Away with new wife and son:
A rental, shared crops and cattle.
We prospered through hard work and discipline.
Years went by, son joined in the work,
Another son came along. The farm went
For sale; he bought it for his own.
We worked side-by-side, first son and he.
He pulled that son aside one day and said:
“Don’t get stuck on this or any farm.”
He set me free that day!
Ever and always grateful.
©2025 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
About debt; a poem.
Thinking today about the prosperous middle class of my generation: the Boomers. All generations are subject to criticism. But I wonder about how history will look at us. On the surface we have done very well, in general. Where did all the prosperity come from?
We are now looking toward more debt to pay for a giant “gimme” for the wealthy. Who will pay for that?
I spent many wonderful hours with MartÍn Prechtel in his “Bolad’s Kitchen” retreats. He often spoke of the debts we owe to the ancestors, gods and goddesses. We owe our very lives to these forbearers and deities. How can we ever repay them? So, thinking about debt and borrowing from the future this poem came as a token of “payment.”
Borrowing the Future
Pulling back time is an act of greed;
It is an act of utter folly.
Time cannot be bought or sold;
It can only be shared.
Borrowing the future cannot
Repay the debts of the past.
Those debts can never be paid.
Ancestral debts are forgiven with love.
Love of our ancestors is payment forward.
Love and honor for them is partial payment in arears.
Greed dishonors all who have come before;
Only love can flow forward in time.
©2025 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Men and The Goddess 