and he mumbles while i'm hopping
as i tell him i was spiderman
i ask him if we're going shopping
he says that's the plan
i better put on my shoes and my socks
when i told him that's what i didn't do
he starts to boil but then with laughter rocks
i told him see i put on my socks and shoes
he made me what i am
with the games we played
and if i stick to the plan
a kid'll love me that way someday
he was witty and funny, sometimes snide
and cynical but always smart enough
and i'm happy to have him on my spider side
when the hobgoblin's got us in the rough
he has four times the strength of a normal kid
with great ideas for afternoons
and he knows all the things i ever did
and what's on the dark side of the moon
he made me what i am
with the games we played
and if i stick to the plan
a kid'll love me that way some day
i run around and run around
my room is a mess
he stares me down and stares me down
and i must confess
i watched the TV the TV
and didn't crack a book
i found where presents were present
i had to take a look
he puts me into check into check-
mate but i don't learn
he asks me questions and questions
the questions i return
he made me what i am
with the games we played
and if i stick to the plan
a kid'll love me this way
some day the circle will complete
a son will loudly and proudly be mine
forty pounds tall in his stockinged feet
and retire his superhero at the age of nine
and when i hold firm, hands on hips
and look him in the eye without a grin
from between furrowed brow and straightened lips
my dad'll be looking out at the boy looking in
some day i'll get to be the hero again
with the best of them.
He made me what i am today
with the things he said, that i still say
with his big bald head to my hair gone astray
he made me what i am
with the games we played
and if i stick to the plan
a kid'll love me this way some day
Vynce
Father's Day, 1998