No Perfect Father

No perfect father exists,
Only Tatay, firm and brisk.
No frills, no show, and no twist,
His work is love, that’s his gift.

Ama is old-school and staid,
Conservative, not afraid.
He accepts any change made,
Love in him will never fade.

Papá is firm and so grand,
Magnanimous with his hand.
Poetic in what he planned,
Love flows quiet as command.

Daddy is modern and bright,
Progressive, critical—quite—
Speaks his love out in the light,
Affection, no need to hide.

Erpat is cheeky and wild,
Adventurous, maybe mild
Ideas new and compiled,
Teaches through jokes to his child.

Names change, so do our views,
We take his flaws, not refuse.
We reject his wrong pursuits,
Yet still chase his shelt’ring truths.

No perfect father we find,
Only him who’s flawed but kind.
Not ideal, not designed,
But ours, who can’t be denied.

_{Layout by Audrey Cabaltica}