My Papa liked to give us gifts,
He liked to make our spirits lift,
And with those gifts, he tried real hard
To pair with them a fitting card!
I’m not quite sure how it began
I don’t think that he had a plan,
Perhaps he just mistook the year,
And as no store was very near,
The card he’d bought would have to do,
He’d merely change the ‘One’ to ‘Two’!
A stroke of pen and he was done,
A birthday card for little one,
And those around, they snickered loud.
That made him really (really) proud
Of his new wise resourcefulness,
That offered him unique egress.
But after that, whenever he
Was giv’n the opportunity,
To buy a card for something fun,
Like ‘Birthday’, ‘Christmas’, ‘Miss you,
Son’,
Deliberately incorrect,
With felt pen, he would interject,
And scrawl across, in letters, fine,
The correct info, line-by-line,
The rest of us when we would see,
Would praise his ingenuity.
The special days can come and go,
But what'd really make hearts glow,
Those precious cards, (by Dad) so new,
I just wish I had saved a few…
Cause Mondays do get knocked a lot,
With
POETRY, we all besought,
To
try to make the week begin
With
pleasant thoughts…
Perhaps
a grin?
Have
crafted poems for you to see.
And
now you’ve read what we have wrought…
Did
we help?
Or
did we not?
Next week from Spikes's Best Mate, we'll try
To knock a topic in the eye.
So join us here and you will see,
Festive Traditions, it will be!
Awwww this is so sweet and what a fun tradition! Sorry it took me so long to get over here----the Thanksgiving holiday lasted much longer than I had anticipated!
ReplyDeleteThe longer you can make it last, the better! And thank you!!
DeleteThere is nothing like a physical card. I hope we never leave this tradition behind!
ReplyDeleteOh, I SO agree, Carol!
DeleteAnother lovely poem, Diane. I bet each card was eagerly awaited to see what the next corrected card would reveal.
ReplyDeleteHere's my effort - a little off-target, but loosely related to cards:
It is that time of the year again
For the writing of Christmas lists
There are “Things to Do” and “Things to Buy”
But the one that I cannot resist
Is the “Christmas Cards” list and all it entails
‘Cos for me it’s an annual delight
As it takes me on journeys down Memory Lane
With every card that I write.
I keep a “Christmas Cards” notebook
And record it every year
A list of intended recipients -
All the names of those I hold dear.
Looking back at the lists of previous years
There are ‘stayers’, and those long gone
But held in those precious pages
Are fond memories that linger on.
So as I settle down with my cards and pen
It’s with heartfelt thanks and pleasure
That I repay all those on this year’s list
For memories I’ll always treasure.
Oh, that's a fine poem. Heartwarming and true.
DeleteNot off the mark at all, SBM! What a wonderful tradition! And a beautiful poem!
DeleteYour poem, and that of SpikesBestMate, melt my heart.
ReplyDeleteMelting hearts is totally my prized goal, EC! Thank you!
DeleteLove this. Will share a memory on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Beth! And thank you for your sweet memory!
Deletei love your dad. He sounded like so much fun. And that card is so precious.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Laurie! He was so much fun! Remembering his antics keeps him close!
DeleteHeartwarming, smile bringing, and poignant.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Nancy! You're so kind!
DeleteBrilliant. My husband made me LOL one year, when he crossed out Birthday, and put Merry Christmas on one of my cards. With cards being so expensive, and especially now, when it's difficult to go to a store to choose the perfect one, this is an idea for the "Covid" times. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI think I like your husband! ;)
DeleteBrilliant idea! The COVID card!
Your father was a very spoecial man. I come to like him more with each thing you tell, and regret that I'll never meet him, or probably you either, in person.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in the next life, Charlotte! What a treat that will be!
DeleteYour Dad and the cards -some might call it eccentric. But it reminded me of one of my first cousins, who does goofy things with greeting cards. For example, on my 60th birthday he gave me a card for a 6 year old, and wrote in a zero next to it. I think it's neat not eccentric!
ReplyDeletePerfect! I hereby adopt your cousin into our goofy clan!
DeleteAwww! Your dad was quite the clever and ingenious person.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mimi! He was an amazing dad!
Delete