Under the warmth of my blanket, before I caress sleep.
My thoughts sink subconscious deep.
I drift into the past filled with adolescent memory,
amidst the swirling darkness, a golden Light shines at me.
Abandoned, with no maternal care,
Papi was strong enough to always be there.
Playing the role of both parents as best as he could,
bearing a giant’s burden squarely on his shoulders, one that no one
should.
Working 10...12...14 hours a day for overtime.
Then come home to cook at dinnertime.
Sometimes a concoction of rice, spinach, sardines, and Spam
Most of our meals came from food found in cans.
Trying his best so we wouldn’t grow thinner,
it broke his heart when we would eat sleep for dinner.
When our house burned down, it was the first time I’d seen him cry
An embodiment of perseverance and strength...alone...he continued, despite
his red eyes.
Waking hours before the sun graces the sky,
to support my two older brothers and I.
Young as we were, twelve, nine and five,
thankful everyday, Papi is alive.
Two hundred pounds of hard-worked muscle and bone
He sacrificed his youth to make our house a home.
He went to no parties, just work and home
A rare breed among Men, single-handedly growing the seeds he had sown.
A living Titan who taught me that real love and true strength are in how we
choose to be
lessons on how to hold my high and stand firmly on my own two feet.
A real man is a catalyst who transforms boys into men,
Emblazoned in our hearts, the importance of not giving in.
He is the foundation of my judgement, the footsteps I choose to follow.
My unbreakable pillar of truth, of how to approach tomorrow.
Papi’s name is Teodulfo Diaz, a man of unsurpassable might.
I wake, smile, and see the morning Light.
Darien Diaz, son of Teodulfo Diaz, is a nursing major at Rutgers-Newark.
