Ode to My Father

phd-oration

I remember my father
Scolding me “Don’t do that”

And in that don’t
There are a lot of dos

Enough for a million vows
Where an invisible bond is mightier

Than the vow between man and woman.
A bond of gamete and gamete donor.

How a bald-headed man
Makes a verb – do – do things

That no paycheck can. Like love and discipline.
It’s beautiful to think that genes

On his Y chromosome, will take
Me to la la land some day,

My cup of tea, with tang
That I will taste with glee.

And I do remember how a long time ago
He too gave me milk, in the form of words

Not pumped through two breasts;
But through every little lining of space

Between his ribs.

Published by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)

Dr Dilantha Gunawardana graduated from the University of Melbourne, as a molecular biologist, and moonlights as a poet. He currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Botany, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Dilantha lives in a chimeric universe of science and poetry. Dilantha’s poems have been accepted for publication /published in HeartWood Literary Magazine, Canary Literary Magazine, Boston Accent, Forage, Kitaab, Eastlit, American Journal of Poetry, Zingara Poetry Review, The Wagon and Ravens Perch, among others. Dilantha too has two anthologies of poetry, 'Kite Dreams' (2016) and 'Driftwood' (2017), both brought to the readership by Sarasavi Publishers, and is working on his third poetry collection (The Many Constellations of Home). Dilantha’s pet areas of teaching and research, include, Nitrogen Fixation, RNA biology, Phytoremediation, Agricultural Biology, and Bioethics & Biosafety. Dilantha blogs at – https://meandererworld.wordpress.com/ -, where he has nearly 2000 poems. View all posts by Curiosity-driven life (Dilantha Gunawardana)