Parents: A Lasting Legacy

Om man skulle räkna

Vad det är värt,

finns det inget pris -

oersättligt

Gåvan dom ger

inte bara med

kalas

traditioner

och böcker skrivna

som arv

av deras integritet.

Men vad dom gör

på en vanlig dag:

Älskar sina barnbarn

med ett oväntat besök,

eller bakar kakor

kanske fiskar en hel dag,

med bara lite råd, men alla fiskarna

Det är jag som också fick

denna oförtjänt gåva

Vem JAG är, är föratt

Dom är

Vårldens bästa föräldrar.

Written for dVerse's poetics challenge: write a poem in another language.  Those who know me can guess what language.  Those new to Life is Good, it's in the footnotes.

************************

If one were to count

What it's worth

There is no total

Priceless

The gift they give

Not just with parties

traditions

and books written

as a legacy

of their integrity

But what they do

on a normal day:

love their grand kids

with an unexpected visit

or baking cookies

maybe fishing all day,

with just a little advice, but all the fish

I'm also the one who got

This undeserved gift

Who I am, is because

They are

The world's best parents.

*********

I love writing poetry, and have reams of it since childhood, but I've never written one in Swedish before.

The topic came easily. This week we attended my parents' traditional “take down the Christmas tree” party (yes, very late, due to illness) and it was just such a wonderful time, and great reminder of how blessed I am. My Dad is writing another book (I've now officially lost count of how many he's published...) as a legacy of his life, for his kids, grand kids, and perhaps other immigrants to be inspired to remember their homeland and pass on the legacy of foreign traditions.

As to the last line? One of the activities at the party was some Swedish lessons. He sent the boys home with this phrase for their dad:

Du är vårldens bästa pappa.