My father told of his father
and how things were then.
He talked of what “hard” was,
what controlling was,
what growing up really was,
when there was little signs of love or affection.

He told of his life that was owned by his father
and how his only chance of freedom, was leaving.
So he joined the air force, and let his father know,
he was no longer his shadow, but a life on his own.
His father raged, and yelled, and screamed
and he felt betrayed.
My father left and took to the seas, 
landing in other countries.
Without a family or any friends
he turned to God for comfort and salvation.

He now feels I am abandoning faith and abandoning him
and he yells and screams in his own way.
Feeling betrayed, as I run away to find my own self, 
away from what he knows of God.

Life always comes full circle
but the struggle of me and my father
is merely a shadow of he and his father.
This story allowed me perspective and humility
to see and understand what “hard” really was.
It allowed compassion, love, and understanding
to flow where it was damned before.
Thank you for sharing, Father.
I am not trying to leave behind anything you taught me
I am only looking to find my own.
One day it will all come full circle, once again.