Remembering Dad

The other day I noticed some herbal essences shampoo and it brought me back to a childhood memory of the smell of the shampoo that my dad always used. From this, I realized shampoo rhymed with the word canoe and that just got me going. The following is a poem I wrote in memory of my dad and all the things that remind me of him.

Dad

The taste of an orange and the smell of herbal essences shampoo

the sound of man who can't sing in church and the sight of an 'ol canoe

The cans of sardines covered in mustard and those blurry programs on tv

The feeling that there was someone bigger and knowing church held the key

The time he told my ccd class that I had a brownie with something more

and the fact that he would pay me way too much money for just  about any chore

The idea that a tree house should be twenty feet in the air

and the way he wore his clothes, giving matching no care

The thought that pictures were the best type of souvenir

and the ugly head above the fireplace of his first killed deer

The stink given off by one of those old rusty vans

and the thrill of leaving for a vacation without any plans

The way he rubbed my feet not worried if they were dirty or clean

and the embarrassment he loved to give me when I was about thirteen

The rumble of a motorcycle and the constant energy he always had

and how each and every one of these words leads me to the word Dad