‘Celebrating Fathers’

You’ve never been afraid to change diaper put him in a basin and soap him clean hold your daughter close to your chest pat her back until she burped sit in the rocking chair and watch day fold into night as you hum her to sleep or get up in the middle of the night after he cried and your wife nursed him

You paced the floor rubbing ice on his teething gum repeating hush-hush

Until he fell asleep snuggled in the fold of your arms that have gone numb

You know how to brush her hair tie in ribbons or decorate with barrettes make porridge and coax her to eat and not get upset when food spill on your starched work shirt you quickly have to change before taking them to school

You run around with them in the yard make the hose a spray teach them how to climb trees pick a ripe mango take them with you to the market telling then the names of things yam, pumpkin, cho cho, dasheen scallion, thyme, jackfruit, guinep

Sundays you take them to the beach teach them to float and swim kneel in the sand with them and build sand-castle let them bury you in the sand

You’re not afraid to laugh or play peek-a-boo or say daddy don’t know when they ask where the sun goes when it sets

When he falls off his bicycle and bruises his knee you lift him up and apply Detol you don’t admonish him and tell him boys don’t cry, tough it up you know that being a man is not just one thing being a man is loving yourself your wife and children and not being afraid of being vulnerable being a man is being there for your children teaching them by example how to love and care for one another how to be soft and when to be hard

Being a man is taking responsibility for your children and providing for them financially and emotionally

Being a father is celebrating love for yourself and your community being a father is honour and dedication and you wear fatherhood with pride and a life-time commitment.