Father’s Love
My father does not remember loving you.
You are his son, and he is a ghost.
His ghost is your love, and you are his son,
drowning in a mirage of thankless black men.
Thankless, black man, you are drowning and distant
in his fading mind, betrayed by time.
In a time indifferent to his fading mind,
your longing for our father’s love is an assault.
Your assault on your father’s love is a longing.
You want love, but the price is too high.
The price of his love is higher than rent—
higher than shoes, than food, than school.
Your father remembers you wanting for nothing, but
your father does not remember loving you.
Copyright © 2026 Jewel Rodgers. Used with the permission of the author.
Jewel Rodgers
Jewel Rodgers earned her BA in business administration from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and her MS in real estate development from New York University. She has been a spoken word poet for over a decade, performing in schools, festivals, community spaces, conferences, and public events, including 100 Years | 100 Women, TEDxLincoln, and Amplifying the Black Experience.