Poem#4: Awesome Dad

THE POEM: AWESOME DAD

When I think about my father,
and the years we've had to share
I'm thankful just to know
that his love is always there.

Through the crazy days of youth
and now that I'm "mature"
the special bond between us
is still strong and will endure.

And though he's growing older
he grows sweeter with each year
my "knight in shining armor,"
I'm so glad to have you here!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jill Lemming is a poet and a mother of three with a son and two step daughters. She not only writes poems, but also works part time in the church and teaches 1st grade sunday schools. Despite her busy life, living both as a housewife and a teacher, she is also a 1999 Poet of the year. She represents the Fellowship of Christian Poets with her outstanding Christian poetry.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

What I like in this poem is that although the poem did not use many poetic devices, the content was great and reminded me of my dad. I thought about the past when my dad and I went to a lot of places. Also, in the 2^nd stanza line 1 when it says “Through the crazy days of youth”, this line reminded me of the times when I did not listen to his words and just did what I wanted to do. Reminiscing the past made me feel sorry for him and at the same time felt thankful for his love. This poem, which is mainly talking about a father’s love made me think about the loves he gave to me. I realized that I did not really cared on the things he did for me and I felt ashamed for myself. Also, in the 3^rd stanza line 1 and 2 where it says “And though he’s growing older, he grows sweeter each year”, made me think about my dad growing older. I did not notice that he was growing older and when I was young I believed that he will never get old. However, by reading this poem, I felt sad for my dad growing old unlike the poem. I felt sorry for him sacrificing his own life in order to support my life. I felt sorry for not even showing a small attention to him after coming here in Saipan. Through this poem, I had the opportunity to think about my dad’s love.

TP-CASTT

TITLE:Through the title “Awesome Dad”, I think this poem will talk about the writer’s dad. Maybe it will talk about the good sides of her dad or a special event that happened.

PARAPHRASE:

I think about my father

And the events that happened throughout the years

I feel thankful for knowing

That you always love me

Even though I was crazy in the youth

I am now “mature”

But the strong bond between me and my dad

Will endure no matter what

Even though my father is becoming old

He becomes sweeter as he grows old

He is like the knight in shining armor

I am happy that you are here

CONNOTATION: (Formal Analysis)

1.   Structure: 3 quatrains

2.   Speaker: A son or a daughter, Audience: the father of the speaker

3.   Figurative Language: Metaphor “knight in shining armor”

4.   Imagery: Sight(shining armor),

5.   Repetition: none

ATTITUDE: reminiscent

SHIFTS:

1^st quatrain: Reminisces the father and his love

2^nd quatrain: The strong bond between each other that went through the crazy days of youth

3^rd quatrain: Her father becoming sweeter as he grows older.

In the 1^st and 2^nd quatrain, the speaker is talking about the past. However, in the 3^rd quatrain, shifts occur, by talking about the present. In the first two quatrains, she is thankful for his love that he gave but in the 3^rd quatrain, she is saying that she still loves her father even though he is growing older.

TITLE:The title “Awesome Dad” is talking about the dad of the speaker. By describing the father as awesome, the writer of this poem is thinking about the love he gave and the strong bond between each other.

THEME:The love between the child and the father does not change no matter what.

REFERENCES (APA-6)
"Poet's Profile." About the author: Jill Lemming. <"About the Author: Jill Lemming." Poet's Profile. .>.