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Thursday, October 30, 2014

What I Kept From My Father (a Dia de los Muertos tribute)

I kept his humility
but not his shyness.

I kept his loyalty
but not his tribalism.

I kept his laughter
but not his derision.

I kept his discipline
but not his strictness.

I kept his skepticism
but not his cynicism.

I kept his patriotism
but not his blind allegiance.

I kept his faithfulness
but not his routine.

I kept his integrity
but not his inflexibility.

I kept his hairline
but not his irregularity.

I kept his high cholesterol
but not his naivete.

I keep him inside me
but never hide him.

4 comments:

  1. sounds like you gleaned the important things...and maybe even a few lessons....like that naivety about choloesterol...yikes...

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  2. Perfection. Love the double meaning in the title, too.

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  3. it's interesting how we discover bits and pieces of the character of our parents in us...and it's cool if we manage to further-develop the good parts without their negative side

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  4. A wonderful tribute to your father...and to yourself.

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