Editor:This is the poem I chose for Fathers Day, written by David Harkins. You will find both a ‘he’ and a ‘she’ version on the web. I chose the ‘he’ because it says what I want about the passing of a father. I’ve learned that Harkins wrote it as the ‘she’ version, and that it was originally intended to be about unrequited love, and not about death. I am exercising the readers’ prerogative to interpret a poem as I choose.
You Can
You can shed tears
that he is gone.
Or you can smile because he lived.
You can close your eyes and
pray that he will come back.
Or you can open your eyes and
see all that he has left.
Your heart can be empty because
you can’t see him.
Or you can be full of the love
that you shared,
You can turn your back on
tomorrow and live for yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow
because of yesterday.
You can remember him and
only that he is gone.
Or you can cherish his
memory and let it live on,
You can cry, close your mind,
be empty, and turn your back.
Or you can do what he would
have wanted, smile, open your
eyes, love and move on.
