Memories of His Dad
Antique, the shaving brush atop his side of our bathroom counter.
Memories of his father come forth,
back when Dad used soap and an old-fashioned razor,
how the blade grazed his flesh with precision.
Later, his father lost that control
as Lou’s legacy sent him flailing
Hard for a WWII vet, an engineer, a man of science,
to revert to unexpected infancy, utter dependence.
The badger-hair brush reminds his son
of happier times, watching Dad pull up his nose
to stop that mustache from gaining ground.
© 2012 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For Three Word Wednesday: Razor, Flesh, Control; also at Poets United.
Image courtesy of http://www.tjrakowski.com
Sharp Little Pencil 
booguloo
A nice one Amy. What a blessing to have that brush with all those memories attached to it.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks so much, Mike! Amy
viv blake
A charming memorial poem.
Sharp Little Pencil
Wish he had lived longer so I could have met him. Lex’s dad was an engineer at GE and a very nice, sedate man. Thanks, Viv. Amy
Sheilagh Lee
isn’t it lovely how the little things remind us.
Sharp Little Pencil
Amen to that! Nice to see you, Sheilagh, peace, Amy
zumpoems
Wonderfully reflective and emotional. Beautiful!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, Zum! Peace, Amy
kaykuala
Amy,
My mom-in-law would come down for breakfast and later joined in while we were having ours. Forgetting she already had hers earlier. We never had the heart to tell her.We’re still lucky she can manage her personal hygiene at the moment.
Hank
Sharp Little Pencil
Hank, I’m so sorry about that. It’s not easy watching the parent become the child… Amy
Poetry & Icecream
I love those badger hair brushes! They are a reflection of simpler times.This brings back memories of my dad too. Beautifully written 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Norma. Kind of sad, being that the badger is our state animal! My best memory of my dad is Old Spice aftershave… a nice thought. Peace, Amy
MISH
This resonates with me… my Dad owned one of these shaving brushes… I still remember seeing it at the back of the bathroom cabinet, not so long ago… mum held onto it for these 30-odd years… gosh, heartwarming memories for me… 🙂
Thank you for sharing this, Amy.
Sharp Little Pencil
Mish, most of our dads used one. And then Dad would splash on the Old Spice, I can smell it like it was yesterday! Amy
brian miller
big smiles….makes me think of the barber shop…and def saturdays with dad…a wet shave is a pretty amazing thing…
Sharp Little Pencil
I agree, unless you remember “The Color Purple.” Yikes! But the barber shop has historically been the meeting place for men, no matter the ethnicity of the neighborhood. Thanks so much! Amy
Fireblossom
My father used to shave that way when I was little. I remember it vividly. I can still hear the scrape/scratch of the razor over his whiskers.
Sharp Little Pencil
Seems like so many of us have these memories, and it’s one of those few fond memories I have of my father… thanks, Shay! Amy
Renee Espriu
I have such memories myself and this brought them all back, along with dad wearing tiny bits of tissue all over is face to stave off the bleeding from all the tiny cuts. My uncle died of Lou Gehrig’s and it is a difficult thing to know their life is no longer theirs. Thank you for a wonderful post.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yes, my dad had a stiptic pencil he used to catch little bleeds. So sorry to hear about your uncle. I never met Lex’s dad because Alex died 20 years before we met. I hear he was a wonderful father and a great guy. I think we would have gotten along fine. Thanks, Renee. Peace, Amy
Altonian
I used to have a brush like this, before I started to use foam from a can. I often wonder what little things will provoke memories of me (if any!) in my own children.
Sharp Little Pencil
I’ll bet they will remember the old days, when Daddy used a brush and soap. I had a flash memory of stiptic pencil to stop the little bleeds… besides, you’re unforgettable! Peace, Amy
Old Egg
The memories in mundane objects that cut so deep but when seen by others they but the trash of yesterday. Beautifully written Amy.
Sharp Little Pencil
Robin, you are so right. It’s those little moments, captured in commonplace objects, that spur the memory. Thanks, and peace, Amy
dandeliongirl01
Beautiful, I love the idea of an object reminding you of a person although it’s sad he’s no longer able to use it. x
Sharp Little Pencil
That’s how people stay alive in our world long after they depart… it’s the stories we tell about them. Thanks, hon, Amy