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fatherhood:
doing their best
to be good enough,
but still coming
up short.

caricatured as
goofs and dupes
with their own
lame jokes.
incompetent,
never getting it right,
immature, almost childlike.
buffoons and baboons
fumbling unearned responsibly.
emotionally stunted,
generally inarticulate
and suffering from
arrested development.

do it without
being asked,
pick up the slack,
help carry
the mental load,
yearning to be
more than just
underlings to the
household managers,
doing more than just
following instructions.

they do what they can;
furniture assemblers,
changers of light bulbs,
talkers to the guys
about the things.
luggage carriers.

my mom called to
wish me a happy father’s day
and told me she thinks
i’m a good dad.

i didn’t know
how to respond
or what that means.

i made a vow to be
less selfish when
kaia was born.
fifteen years later,
still feel from successful.

doing my best
to be good enough.
hoping to get it
right enough.