The poem is about the author reflecting on the father he never knew by observing the legacy and qualities passed down through the father's children and progeny. In three sentences, the poem explores how the author comes to understand the type of man his father was through seeing the strong work ethic, integrity and leadership exhibited in the lives of those related to his father, allowing the author to feel a connection to the father he never actually knew.

1. The Dad I Never Knew<br />By John R. Wible<br />To William W. (Red) Wible (1916-2011)<br />The Dad I never knew, you see,<br />He must have been a Man.<br />“To obvious,” you say? Then,<br />I’ll explain it if I can.<br />Some shades of men are lily-white,<br />While others, kudzu-strong.<br />Nine to five is good enough,<br />Yet others know that’s wrong.<br />A Man has mitts with fingernails,<br />That stain their tea-glass black.<br />Men put lotion on their hands,<br />And powder down their back.<br />The Dad I never you, oh, oh,<br />Was surely one of These,<br />Rather never one of those,<br />Who always tried to please.<br />No matter what the issue was,<br />He’d take a stand and stay,<br />There, on that spot he’d carved,<br />Until his final Day.<br />“How,” you ask, “how could I know,<br />The Dad I never knew?”<br />I’ve seen him in the face of Them,<br />The ones who loved him true.<br />Men are Loved, while men are liked,<br />Tho’ it’s not eas’ly thought;<br />It does not ‘twine around one’s brain,<br />It’s more quickly caught –<br />By seeing what their life has made,<br />The children they have sired;<br />And what a legacy is left,<br />When they are old and tired.<br />I’ve seen his passed-down progeny,<br />And watched the jobs they’ve done;<br />The hours given in bright daylight,<br />Or past the setting sun.<br />The Dad I never knew, you see,<br />I knew him after all.<br />“He lives this day, yet past his Day,”<br />You mark it on the wall.<br />The Dad I never knew, oh. oh,<br />He surely was a Man;<br />And I will be a Man some day,<br />Just like him if I can.<br />