This Sunday is Father’s Day. My father passed away many years ago. I still remember him fondly as a quiet, shy, hard-working man who talked to his animals, played music, and entertained us kids with his sketches around the table of our Saskatchewan farmhouse.
In His Shop
In his shop Daddy improvised
like a jazz musician.
Virtuoso of rivets, solder, screws
he repaired hinges with leather
lengthened a steering shaft
for the tractor-drawn binder
braced wobbly chairs with welding rods
reincarnated metal seats
into lawn furniture.
Lightning from his welder
like brain synapses
crackled creations into being.
Pounding hammer
tapping chisel
whining file perfected
riffs of leather, metal, wood.
- Violet Nesdoly © 2004
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!
Violet Nesdoly 