To a magnanimous Dad: A poem 

I can remember your blue and white asters on the altar 

And the plaster on the walls of the little home, falling apart 

And being replastered again, like a reminder 

of your perseverance in knitting together 

a family. Solidarity and solidity are squares 

of a fortress, strong and standing, despite the cracks 

of children growing up. Arguing, rebelling, 

speaking their minds. Making you feel small 

Even a diminutive person can stand tall 

As the leaves fall in moments of realisations 

That after you’ve gone and long past 

new generations come in, in aero planes with cargoes 

of anxiety. And your patience and fortitude  

and magnanimity are the sunlight in our veins 

that keep us standing