A Poem In Remembrance of Dad

15 years ago

Sixteen years ago, I found this poem on yellowed, tattered newspaper in my late fatherÂs possessions. Dad was an avid gardener and always included junk treasures in his gardens. HE INSPIRED ME! The nut didnÂt fall too far from the tree. :o) ItÂs been soooooooo cold here with heavy frosts, and I have been preparing our gardens for winter. As I do so, I think of Dad and this beautiful poem. (Dad was born in October and passed away in October.) I look forward to Winter and working on garden junk projects for display in the Spring! Enjoy! Bear Hugs! Kirk

Contentment

When Spring arrives and lilacs blow

IÂm not compelled to shovel snow.

In Summer no one bothers me

To feed the fire, nor skate, nor ski.

In Autumn no one longer needs

To waste the morning pulling weeds.

And Winter brings no dewy dawn

When I must rise to mow the lawn.

So I am glad the seasons through

For what I do not have to do.

By Arthur Guiterman

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Comments (11)

desertrat1
15 years ago
Kirk,
What a fabulous poem! And what a blessing to have found it! Even though we rarely get ice/snow I feel the same way about the seasons. What a cherished poem to remember at this time of year! Thanks so much for sharing. I don;t know if you know this but my father passed away Oct 27th 2001. Halloween always brings the somber world to life for me. Dad was not a gardener but he always tried to make us kids happy.
TTYL
Love, Jules
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countrygrl
15 years ago
How lucky of you to find this great poem! It obviously meant something to your father. I lost my Dad in November (17 years ago!!! Seems like yesterday). He always had a vegetable garden, so I get the gardening bug(obsession) from both sides! And I LOVE all the seasons. There is a beauty to appreciate in each of them! I wonder what other people in hotter climates think?!
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Hi, Karl your message emphasized the point even more. Plus! it looks like not only generic garden centers can be a problem but also this! One time I called to check on a specific variety of climbing rose for Kansas that I might put on reserve for next year 2010 ( I contacted a so-called rose society hotline from my suburbs) and I did not find out until 15 minutes later into the conversation that the "volunteer" herself had never grown roses herself. And when I questioned then how can you know about what I'm asking about, she admitted wellllll, they give us a sheet and train us on how to answer a lot of the questions since we're mostly all volunteers.... ooo, my....see how I depend upon the real experts (you) etc, etc.... On the other hand Karl, happily I have learned some very key important things about canker, root strength and artist's instincts about the health of the rose and what I visually see and can predict. I was really surprised how accurate I'm starting to get just by looking at the coloration of leaves, stems, their formations etc and being able to tell which branches will blossom/bud first and other subtleties of how a rose is doing healthwise. Marianne, I looked up the Frau Karl Druschi and the Marianne, because it's the first time I've heard their names (being very new to roses) They are very dramatic roses! I hope you had the best of photos to keep of your favorites... should I ever succeed at my roses I will be taking "memory" pictures, just like I do of my Eluane (dog). Both she and the tree roses were my first tries (1st time pet owner, 1st time gardening). Now there is just one tree rose, and the others I've gotten since then are doing so beautifully and hope they will continue to. But again, I still have winter to worry about (of course nothing like Swedish winters) but with the help of so many here, I am sure they will have a fighting chance...
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goldenpond
15 years ago
wE ARE STILL MOWING,in Florida mowing and weeding is all year but hey,no show shoveling!I remember when we moved here the first Christmas our Pastor from Pennsylvania called and wanted my DH. I said oh he is out mowing . There was dead silence on the phone and later he said he was trying to comprehend that as he watched the snow billowing against his windows!
My dad is still around and hes a pain in the butt ,but hes MY pain in the butt and I love him spend lots and lots of time with him.usually every day. He disappeared from our lives for about 30 years but hes not going anywhere NOW.Just bought him his Halloween costume for this year. Last year he won first prize at his Sr aptParty .He was a clown.This year he will be...... not telling but Ill post photos!
Doubt he will win again because he also won the spring garden contest.
{{gwi:127974}}
He kisses all the girls and they love it!
{{gwi:127975}}
cherish the memories!
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jeannespines
15 years ago
Kirk - That is so special...thanks for sharing this memory of your Dad. Yes, we love the changing of seasons! And Oct. is such a beautiful time of the year...love to see the crops coming out of the fields and the Autumn leaves. And it certainly gives us time to dream of Spring again! Jeanne S.
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sunnyca_gw
15 years ago
Great poem glad you found it. I never liked fall in S.Dakota. Didn't like snow & cold hence my sunnyca handle on here! But then I found GJ & saw so many great fall pics that I like it more each yr. I notice the colors more only they are slow to turn, our fall color is much later & into Dec. DS called tonight & was sleeting,emailed later & raining with snow coming tomorrow. Asked if crops in, no, corn too "wet" may end up as ethynol, soybeans still in fields!!Don't know if snow will wipe crops out or not. Economy is bad enough hope not. Here we can have 6 crops a yr.Time for winter veggies & planting bulbs for early spring color!! Jan
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concretenprimroses
15 years ago
Great poem. I feel that way too.
I have 2 good friends from CA (near LA, both of them) and they hate winter even though they've lived in NH for decades. One of them just said to me that she thinks about all the people who can go out in their yards and still have a "normal" life. For me winter is a resting time (except for shoveling snow, which at my age I'm just grateful that I can still do!) I get to stay home and read and plan my garden and sew and crochet. No more painting the house. The bulbs will either be planted or they won't. I can hardly wait!
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smickerdoodle
15 years ago
Kirk,

That is a beautiful poem. I have been missing my dad lately. He passed away in January of 2007. I didn't get my gardening from him (his idea of gardening was to mow mom's roses down every time they started to grow) but I did get his knack for restoring old things back to new and improved. Your poem both made me smile and cry. Thank you for sharing it with us. Micki
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tennesseetrash
15 years ago
I was afraid that poem would make me sad, but it makes me happy, in a bittersweet way. I lost my Dad almost 20 years ago, he was in his mid 50's. Too young. Now I'm a year older than that myself. He inspired me to all of nature's beauty, and was an pen and ink artist who could capture the best of it. At least I have his drawings to enjoy.

As to the change of seasons ... we lived in San Diego many years ago when my hubby was in the Navy. Loved living there, but didn't realize until that experience just how much I appreciate each season of the year here in the hills of Tennessee. I was a young 20 something year old then, and had never thought about how folks in milder climates didn't experience such a dramatic change like those who live where it gets cold in the winter.

Christmas out there was the event that woke me up to that fact ... it was so strange to have warm weather and palm trees in the yard at Christmas! It was nice to have a great climate like that, but I prefer the season changes, probably because that's how I grew up. But I would surely like to visit San Diego again someday, I did enjoy my time there.

As to those loved ones I've lost ... they were a blessing in my life and I was fortunate to spend time with them. Keeping it positive is the only way I can deal with the loss without being overly sad.

Remember the good times, you'll carry them with you forever more. Thanks for sharing that beautiful poem, I love it. ~tenderlee
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goldenpond
15 years ago
Kirk,
have you hidden a poem for your kids to find? I was just thinking,,,,, what treasures will our kids find when we are gone?
Mine are so NON-junkers and into simplifying their lives that I imagine they'll just call the auctioneer and be done with it. Maybe they'll change.
Its nice to know some people are still sentimental but I'm afraid the younger generations don't have the stomach (or heart) for it.
Maybe it will make a comeback though like ballroom dancing!
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luna_llena_feliz
15 years ago
What an awesome poem and a wonderful way to remember your dad! Reading it made me think that winter maybe isn't so bad. If it weren't for winter, we wouldn't be able to enjoy apples and tulips!
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leveta
15 years ago
What a wonderful poem... I think of my dad alot this time of yr. also. He loved the fall stuff. Pumpkins and such. Gathiering the nuts and watching the world series. OH...And watching the KY Wildcats play basketball. He died in Aug. 02. On his dad's birthday...Your dad sounds like a very wonderful person, and a great blessing.
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A Poem In Remembrance of Dad

Comments (11)

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