I am a writer of short stories and poetry and I would like to share with you a couple of pieces I wrote about being a father, and special pieces I wrote for my son.
I, my son and his mother are inseparable to an extent, we are a family in the sense that his interests are our most important focus in life. Myself and my sons mother are no longer together, and haven’t been since 2010. In 2010 she made a difficult decision to move from north west where we met and where together, for eight years, had our son. We bought our first house just after he was born and had his christening and first birthday there.
Being originally from south east London they moved in with her mother near the Bromley area, I had a good job as a building surveyor in north west and was also paying the mortgage on my first house so I couldn’t move with them initially. I understood her needs to move and I have never been angry about that decision, though she made further decisions I didn’t like, we continue to be best friends and partners in raising our son.
It took me a year and one month to change my circumstances, it was very difficult and at many times, I was not sure how much involvement in my sons life I would have, and I knew if i didn’t move to south east, I would not be the father I truly intended to be.
I have now lived in the South East, living in my own place since march 2012 and have no intentions of leaving his side. I am still a surveyor, I still own a house in north west, and I live and work for my son, cherishing the example I set for him, and loving every minute we spend together.
Below is one of many poems I wrote for my son.
A message to my son
Jericho,
There isn’t a minute
That goes by
That I don’t miss being with you
There’s one thousand
Four hundred and forty minutes
In 24hours and,
Many nights I don’t sleep
As I count the seconds
Within those minutes
Eighty six thousand
Four hundred times
My heart beats
In a three dimensional time zone
When you’re not with me and,
Every time
We are together
My heart is compelled
To reset and synchronise itself
To the soliloquy of your voice and,
The beauty within your eyes opens the windows within my soul and,
I swear you can see right through me
I can only aim to convince you
That my temporary absence and regular visits
Are vital to your growth and,
That your growth is vital to my truth and inspiration
I still have plenty to teach you my son
So I hope you don’t see my times of absence as a weakness or
A punishment for something
This is not one of those cliché family break ups
Where hearts are departed at the seam
Mother, father and child is still the holy trinity, and
No matter the vicinity
We will continue to communicate and
Aim for serenity
Nurturing the beauty within you
Your name is Jericho for a reason, and
Not because of the reasons I chose it I believe
Your name was already written in my stars
With a hidden message that no walls must keep us apart
And with the help of God my voice combine with your mothers
Will imitate the trumpets as we circle our lives around your existence
Presently you are our little prince and
You will grow to become the king of all hearts
Moving one square at a time
Though in this chess game your mother is the queen so listen carefully
Because in this monarchy we obey the rules of the queen
I will always be here to guide you
Know that there is nothing you will encounter that I haven’t encountered first, so ask
No matter the question
An answer will surely follow
And very likely raise
More questions
So ask all and everything
For you are
Inspiration
You are the
Ventricles to my heart
The pupil within my iris
And though I can’t physically see you right now
We are forever connected through nerve endings and DNA
So if you hurt yourself
Daddy feels your pain too
And when you laugh daddy is laughing with you
So no matter where I am
We will forever share our lives
By: Joseph Baruwa
Location: London
Twitter: @ivwordthinkin