Perfect For Me Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Every time I look at dad's photo as a young man,
my psyche registers something, how he's humbled
by the privilege having 5 kids with all their fingers,
toes and minds intact - even if the interaction in
the house destroyed happy thoughts; dad did select
a mother who introduced us to authors: Langenhoven,
Charlottle Brontë & Jane Austen - he had done
something so wonderful -

And mom led by example = listening & playing Mozart,
Chopin and Beethoven on the piano, singing lullabies
and telling stories herself - even if she as the Queen of
Hearts when disobeyed tried to strangle the Duchess, my
twin sis, and shattered dad's new radio when throwing a
brush at Peter Pan my naughty elder brother of 18 months
- dad so humble about everything, his Queenly wife and
Cinderella his mother-in-law,

His kids - since Dad was Conan the Barbarian, he enjoyed
his eldest son Attila the Hun, his goldy-locks son Peter Pan,
twin daughters Alice and the Duchess & his youngest Tom-
Thumb; never realising Alice experienced life like Snegourka,
the melting Russian Maiden of Ice, nor that our little Duchess
needed more love than she ever got; Conan was delighted
by Cinderella keeping -

The house smelling so good, preparing better fare than ever
seen on the Food channel; - then I look at dad's photo as an
88-year old man, handsome like Santa Clause with his white
beard and hair - and remember our Departmental Director
declaring - after staring at dad's photo some time - I LOVE
that man - with love welling up in me - the love felt when
taking care of him, watching him as he sat upright with
water on the lungs -

His feet on the floor - swollen and cold - his showing me
how to taking suffering in one's stride - and I was jealous
at times of his having completed the course of life I still
have to take - but I knew he had to leave as his hanging
on for my mother's sake, enjoying her painting and music
and choirs, already took him way beyond what his body
could take; he had to offer her security as his love was
bigger than himself: people only saw him but as his

Daughter, his Alice In Wonderland - I saw his burning,
loving, passionate. loving heart inside; the bags of love
he carried for exquisite things like babies and small kids
and toys like steam trains, petrol-fuelled cars for us kids
and tape-recorders and teaching me to draw a sailing ship
- every map & sail I see proclaim my dad - oh please -
hear my song: David born on 25 May 1927 & died on 4
April 2017, my Dad - you were PERFECT to me…