My wife made me a banner
my kids colored in the things they like.
They stayed up to show me
too late, because work went long.
I have to leave on Father’s Day at 5:15 AM
so I celebrated on a Saturday night.
My wife wrote me a card
filled it with her own impactful words
gave me an amazing gift with a dad joke.
She printed off cards for the kids
they all said their dad is best at hugs.
I hug my kids often
I tell them I love them more.
They were so excited to celebrate me
and I feel like they did too much.
Fatherhood is work I want
to do. Selfishly, it heals the hurts
buried in me
dioxin in a superfund’s soil.

My son Jackson’s
answers for
what does dad help me with?
and
what do I love to do with my dad?
were both— build forts.
I didn’t build forts much
when I was a little boy.
I didn’t know I could ask
or necessarily that I even wanted to.
We build a fort almost every day
for Jack to snuggle inside, climb on,
his brother to destroy
or some mix of all of it.
This is my fourth Father’s Day
and it feels strange to be celebrated
for the thing I love most.