For my Daddy, William Payton, who passed away March 30, 1979
_____
Father’s Day reminds me of my special “Daddy Bill”
Who took me on his bicycle over dale and over hill.
He built a wooden “buddy seat” for the crossbar of his bike—
On this I rode around with him when I was but a tyke.
We didn’t have a car to drive, but I didn’t feel the lack;
It was a wondrous thing to ride with Daddy at my back.
On that seat, I learned the alphabet while riding ‘round the town
And learned to count from one to ten and then from ten back down.
How much joy there was in riding like a queen upon her steed,
Protected by the bulk of my Daddy’s arms and knees.
I wish every little girl could have a special buddy seat
And go on rides powered by her Daddy’s peddling feet,
For that was a relationship that every child should know—
My Daddy liked to be with me because he loved me so.
Betty Killebrew
Read more articles, stories and poems by Betty Killebrew at: www.trovemagazine.com
