Life
7 Heartwarming Father’s Day Poems To Send To Your Dad
Father's Day is coming up on Jun. 17, and if you haven't yet found the perfect gift, or if you don't really have the funds to get your dad what you'd like to get him, consider this: send your dad a poem. That's right — go totally rogue and against the grain of the traditional gift ideas this year. If you're not sure where to start, no worries: here, I've rounded up a few of my favorite heartfelt Father's Day poems for your consideration.
Surprise your dad by giving him the gift of literature. Give him a poem that says everything you want to say, but don't know how to say. Give him something he can put on his desk and read over and over again, finding something new to appreciate each time he reads it.
It's so hard to find the right words to tell your dad just how much you care about him. A lot of the time, we assume our parents know how much they mean to us, but Father's Day is all about taking that time not to assume and making a point out of declaring your love and respect. That's why a great (classic or contemporary) poem that's perfectly dad-themed is a perfect way to make your dad feel special. It also saves you from having to stress too hard over your own words, which is a bonus.
Here are some of my favorites. Print out the text, or copy it by hand into your Father's Day card.
"My Father" By Yehuda Amichai
"The memory of my father is wrapped up in white paper,
like sandwiches taken for a day at work.
Just as a magician takes towers and rabbits
out of his hat, he drew love from his small body,
and the rivers of his hands
overflowed with good deeds."
"In Her Eyes" By Michelle W. Emerson
"The depth of a father's love shows in his daughter's eyes
What's known is what's shown from sunset to sunrise
A foundation built on more than just what is spoken
It's commitments kept and promises that go unbroken..."
"Life Lessons" By Joanna Fuchs
"You may have thought I didn't see,
Or that I hadn't heard,
Life lessons that you taught to me,
But I got every word.
Perhaps you thought I missed it all,
And that we'd grow apart,
But Dad, I picked up everything,
It's written on my heart..."
"Only a Dad" By Edgar Albert Guest
"Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.
Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of 10 million men or more..."
"The Gift" By Li-Young Lee
"To pull the metal splinter from my palm
my father recited a story in a low voice.
I watched his lovely face and not the blade.
Before the story ended, he’d removed
the iron sliver I thought I’d die from.
I can’t remember the tale,
but hear his voice still, a well
of dark water, a prayer..."
"The Harp" By Bruce Weigl
"When he was my age and I was already a boy
my father made a machine in the garage.
A wired piece of steel
with many small and beautiful welds
ground so smooth they resembled rows of pearls.
He went broke with whatever it was.
He held it so carefully in his arms..."
"On The Beach At Night" By Walt Whitman
"On the beach at night,
Stands a child with her father,
Watching the east, the autumn sky.
Up through the darkness,
While ravening clouds, the burial clouds, in black masses spreading,
Lower sullen and fast athwart and down the sky,
Amid a transparent clear belt of ether yet left in the east,
Ascends large and calm the lord-star Jupiter,
And nigh at hand, only a very little above,
Swim the delicate sisters the Pleiades..."
