34 Father’s Day Poems That Will Make Dad Feel Loved and Appreciated (2024)

RD.COM Father's Day

Updated: May 31, 2024

If you want to express your gratitude for your dad or another father figure in your life, we've got you covered with these moving Father's Day poems

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Send a Father’s Day poem to Dad

If you’ve remembered to ask yourself, “When is Father’s Day?” then you’ve done half the work of showing your dad appreciation on this special day. We’ve done the other half by collecting the best poems to help you put your feelings into words. A Father’s Day poem is an easy but impactful way to let your dad know just how much he means to you.

From love poems to limericks, poetry has a special ability to capture all the facets of life experience and show us unseen truths in beautiful ways. These Father’s Day poems range from funny to philosophical to serious, exploring all the dimensions of this essential relationship. We’re sure you’ll find one you identify with and that you’ll want to share with the dad or father figure in your life.

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1. “A Man” by Jean Star Untermeyer

Often, when I would sit, a dreamy, straight-haired child,
A book held gaping on my knee,
Watering a sterile romance with my thoughts,
You would come bounding to the curb
And startle me to life.
You sat so straight upon your vibrant horse
That lovely horse, all silken fire and angry grace
And yet you seemed so merged in him,
So like! At least my thoughts
Gave you a measure of that wildness.
And oh, for many years you seemed to me
Something to marvel at and yet to fear.

But now I know that you resemble most
That growth in nature that you most revere.
You are so like, so very like, a tree
Grown straight and strong and beautiful
With many leaves.
The years but add in richness to your boughs,
You make a noble pattern on the sky.
About your rugged trunk
Vines creep and lichens cling,
And children play at tag.
Upon your branches some will hang their load
And rest and cool while you must brave the sun.
But you put forth new life with every year,
And tower nearer to the clouds
And never bend or grow awry.

I wonder what sweet water bathes your roots,
And if you gain your substance from the earth;
Or if you have a treaty with the sun,
Or keep some ancient promise with the heavens.

This Father’s Day poem, published in Jean Star Untermeyer’s 1918 poetry collection, Growing Pains, celebrates the change in perspective we have of our fathers from childhood to adulthood. As a child, Untermeyer saw her father as large and powerful, but as time went on, she became most impressed by his gentleness. For more inspiration about the relationship between father and daughter, read these father-daughter quotes—and share them with Dad.

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2. “My Father” by Eduardo Moga

My father underlined and annotated books in biro. I often tasked him with this barbarous practice. To this day I still discover his scribbled traces in books I would never have suspected him of reading. I like finding them.

…

My father went and stood by the wall and yelled, like an Argentinean commentator, ‘goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, gooooooooooal!’ each of the five times Barҫa scored against Madrid at the Bernabéu. The neighbours were from Soria and Madrid fans and he didn’t want to waste such a rare opportunity to torment them.

…

My father never had a car. He said a car cost more than a foolish son. But he loved it when I drove him places.

…

My father and I used to read poems aloud from The Thousand Best Poems in Spanish, in an edition which had lost its cover and my father had wrapped in oil-stained newsprint. We laughed till we cried at “The Banquet” by Baltasar de Alcázar and “How Times Change” by Vital Aza. We also liked “Despair” attributed to Espronceda.

…

My father told me ‘You have to be the best, always the best’ and ‘If you fall down, pick yourself up; if you fall down again, pick yourself up again’. Then he rearranged his underpants and went back to his game of patience.

…

My father carried me to A&E in his arms when I split my lip on the handlebars of my scooter. I bled and bled; he ran and ran.

…

My father’s name was Abel.

Translated by Terence Dooley

These excerpts from a book-long poem by contemporary Spanish poet and translator Eduardo Moga portray his late father with devastating honesty, tenderness and humor. Together, the short sections form a multidimensional mosaic that both celebrates the moments of connection in their relationship and courageously faces its silences. For more perspectives on the relationship between father and son, browse these father-son quotes.

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3. “Content” by Charles Fred White

Toiling, toiling all day long
With his will and might,
Humming tune, or whistling song
From the morn till night:

Ever happy at his work,
Ever gay and free,
Never does he duty shirk,
But content is he.

Cheerful is his little home,
Though of meagre size,
Ne’er he cares from it to roam,
There his treasure lies,

There his heart’s delight is found,
There his joy and pride,
With his children playing ’round,
Sweet wife by his side.

Early does he rise at morn,
To his work he goes
His day’s duty to perform
Without pain or woes.

Fully well is he aware
Of his family’s needs,
Amply does he store prepare,
And. always succeeds.

Thus, the happy father lives
For his children’s sake;
Thus, to them example gives
Of which they partake.

Charles Fred White, born in Tennessee in 1876 to parents who had been enslaved, notably used his poetry to call attention to the mistreatment of Black soldiers who’d returned home from the Spanish-American War. White himself served in Cuba and, as a veteran, faced the injustice of being expelled from his school at the behest of his white fellow students. This poem is not about soldiers but rather calls attention to the everyday heroics of being a father. And since 1908, when the poem was published, not much seems to have changed. As countless Father’s Day quotes attest, today’s parents still work extremely hard.

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4. “To Her Father with Some Verses” by Anne Bradstreet

Most truly honoured, and as truly dear,
If worth in me or ought I do appear,
Who can of right better demand the same
Than may your worthy self from whom it came?
The principal might yield a greater sum,
Yet handled ill, amounts but to this crumb;
My stock’s so small I know not how to pay,
My bond remains in force unto this day;
Yet for part payment take this simple mite,
Where nothing’s to be had, kings loose their right.
Such is my debt I may not say forgive,
But as I can, I’ll pay it while I live;
Such is my bond, none can discharge but I,
Yet paying is not paid until I die.

Anne Bradstreet was a 17th-century English poet who immigrated to North America in 1630. She never went to school but became extremely well educated, thanks in great part to her father, who passed on to her his love of reading. Maybe that is what Bradstreet refers to in this Father’s Day poem when she talks about feeling pressure to make good on her father’s generous investment. It’s safe to say that Bradstreet indeed “yield[ed] a greater sum” on her father’s principal: Her poetry was well regarded in her time and is still celebrated to this day. If you want other ways to show your appreciation for your dad, add one of these Father’s Day messages to your card, alongside your favorite poem.

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5. “Like My Dad” by Douglas Malloch

Lord, make me something like my dad;
Give me a little of his will,
That good old stubbornness he had
That helped him up the hardest hill,
content to wait and work and fight,
believe always he was right.

If your dad has a sense of humor, this might be the Father’s Day poem for him. It finds the perfect balance between admiration and good-natured teasing. Looking for more humorous ways to celebrate his special day? Text one of these funny Father’s Day quotes to your old man and wait for the laughs to roll in.

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6. “To My Father on His Birthday” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Amidst the days of pleasant mirth,
That throw their halo round our earth;
Amidst the tender thoughts that rise
To call bright tears to happy eyes;
Amidst the silken words that move
To syllable the names we love;
There glides no day of gentle bliss
More soothing to the heart than this!
No thoughts of fondness e’er appear
More fond, than those I write of here!
No name can e’er on tablet shine,
My father! more beloved than thine!
‘Tis sweet, adown the shady past,
A lingering look of love to cast—
Back th’ enchanted world to call,
That beamed around us first of all;
And walk with Memory fondly o’er
The paths where Hope had been before—
Sweet to receive the sylphic sound
That breathes in tenderness around,
Repeating to the listening ear
The names that made our childhood dear—
For parted Joy, like Echo, kind,
Will leave her dulcet voice behind,
To tell, amidst the magic air,
How oft she smiled and lingered there.

Written for a birthday celebration but well worth its place on this list of Father’s Day poems, “To My Father on His Birthday” is Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s celebration of the atmosphere of joy and magic her father created in her childhood years. Perhaps that’s because Barrett Browning’s dad was her first fan: When she wrote a short poem at age 4, he paid her a small sum and crowned her with the title of poet laureate.

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7. “To Father” by Mary Eliza Perine Tucker

MY father! when I saw thee last,
Thy noble, manly form,
Was unbent by the cares of time–
Unshattered by life’s storm.

The raven hair around thy brow
Was scarcely tinged with gray–
While the bright lustre of thine eye
Denied old age’s away.

Oft in my dreams I see thy face,
As ’twas when last we met;
If we should never meet again,
Thy smile I’ll ne’er forget.

My father, years have passed since then;
Aye, stern, heart-breaking years;
And we have each been made to feel
Life’s sorrows, and life’s tears.

Now, I am in my womanhood–
They say, life’s glorious page;
And, father, I regret to think,
That you have reached old age.

Grieve not, grieve not, for broken buds,
They’ll open in the sky;
In bower of celestial light,
They’ll bloom, and never die.

Dear father, thou hast ever been
To me, thy orphan child,
A father and a mother too,
Kind, thoughtful, just and mild.

Then grant me, father, but this boon,
Then will thy child be blest–
Let me watch o’er thy latest years,
And lay thee down to rest.

Mary Eliza Perine Tucker’s mother died when Mary was born in 1838, so she was raised by her father. From the content of this poem, it’s clear he did a phenomenal job as a single father—”My Father” overflows with gratitude for him. While you could pen an equally touching poem for your dad, the less literary among us may opt to show our appreciation with a printable Father’s Day card and a poem written inside.

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8. From “My Father” by Ann Taylor

Who took me from my mother’s arms,
And smiling at her soft alarms,
Showed me the world and nature’s charms?
My Father.

Who as we grew up day by day
Would teach his children’s minds to stray
Along fair learning’s flowery way?
My Father.

Who was it took such great delight
To show us how to act aright,
Nor, like the idle, scratch and fight?
My Father.

Who from each flower and verdant stalk,
Gathered a honeyed store of talk,
To cheer the long, delightful walk?
My Father.

Not on an insect would he tread,
Or crush the snail or beetle dead;
Who taught at once my heart and head?
My Father.

…

Who climbed with me the mountain’s height,
And watched my look of dread delight
While rose the glorious orb of Light!
My Father.

And when my kite I wished to try,
Who held the string to make it fly,
While pleasure sparkled in my eye?
My Father.

These excerpts from a 19th-century poetry book by Ann Taylor—accompanied by charming illustrations—portray her father as a benevolent leader and guide. Whether she’s climbing a mountain, flying a kite or doing homework, her father is there to support her and teach her with humor and gentleness. If you want to make your dad laugh with what you might call a modern-day take on the illustrated poem, try a Father’s Day meme.

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9. “The Way of a Man” by Lois Halderman

That paper that my dad received
Three years ago today,
Somebody run and get it quick;
He wants it right away.
So mother looks through boxes old,
We keep beneath the stair;
And I ransack the cabinet,
But the paper isn’t there.

Dad scolds the entire household;
From the guiltless butler down.
And says that all the worthless stuff,
Is just left lying round;
But everything that’s valuable,
Despite the final cost,
Is stuck where it can not be found,
If neither burned nor lost.

And so Dad keeps complaining,
Until mother starts to sing,
And then he frowns in silent rage,
And doesn’t say a thing.
The house looks like a hurricane;
Then in a fit of gloom
Small Jimmie grabs his ball and bat,
And races from the room.

And mother thinks the paper’s lost;
And sister knows it’s gone;
And Dad is tired of thinking
So he scowls and just looks on.
Then mother makes a final search,
Through Father’s private shelf,
And, there it is. He recollects,
He put it there himself.

If you want a Father’s Day poem that will make your dad—and the rest of the family—laugh with recognition, try this gently mocking yet undeniably funny poem. It was published in 1920, so apparently the phenomenon of dads forgetting where they put things and blaming the whole family has been around for a while.

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10. “My Father” by Virginia Moore

Was it a constancy of wind that kept
His honor clean? A wind that sweeps one spot
Reduces excess ego to a dot
That isn’t there; it says to all except
The babblers and the flagrantly inept
“Honor’s the thing !—when honor is forgot
A man is ready to die and ready to rot !”
My father was a man the winds had swept.

His business was not law, as some suppose,
Who think a soul is made of molecules;
His business was constructing, day by day,
An immortality—for there are those
Who build it tile on tile, and there are fools
Who strenuously piddle it away !

Virginia Moore’s “My Father” brims with admiration for her dad, a hard worker who valued honor and integrity above all else. Moore published this poem when she was just 23. To read more work by an extremely young poet, try these Amanda Gorman poems by the inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate.

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11. “To My Father” by Fenton Johnson

Good Father o’ the Dusk, my love for thee
Is boundless as the soul’s eternal sea;
Thou wrought for me when I was weak and young,
And guarded me from life’s tempestuous wrong.

Thou art the lamp that safely pilots me
Beyond the crags and shoals of life’s rough sea;
I cannot falter when thou bidst me go
Where moonlit waters to the ocean flow.

Let others boast of gold and mansions grand,
No father lives throughout this Western land
So good, so true, so brave of heart as thee,
My mariner across the starlit sea.

Fenton Johnson, a highly educated journalist, is considered a precursor of the Harlem Renaissance, the surge in Black American culture (including Black poets) that took place in the 1920s. Throughout the 1915 collection in which this poem appears, Johnson uses “dusk” as a poetic signifier for Black people and culture. The arresting image of the father as first a protector and then a guiding light is still powerful to this day.

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12. “Only a Dad” by Edgar Albert Guest

Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen,
Only a dad, but the best of men.

This classic Father’s Day poem, published in 1916, celebrates the hard work of being a father who “gives his all.” It might be the perfect ode to honor your own dad’s hard work.

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13. From “Rugby Chapel” by Matthew Arnold

But thou woulds’t not alone
Be saved, my father! alone
Conquer and come to thy goal,
Leaving the rest in the wild.
We were weary, and we
Fearful, and we in our march
Fain to drop down and to die.
Still thou turnedst, and still
Beckonedst the trembler, and still
Gavest the weary thy hand.

If, in the paths of the world,
Stones might have wounded thy feet,
Toil or dejection have tried
Thy spirit, of that we saw
Nothing—to us thou wage still
Cheerful, and helpful, and firm!
Therefore to thee it was given
Many to save with thyself;
And, at the end of thy day,
O faithful shepherd! to come,
Bringing thy sheep in thy hand.

This excerpt from a long elegy to the poet’s father highlights how he supported not only his son but a whole community. His father, Dr. Thomas Arnold, was the headmaster of Rugby, an elite private school in England, from 1828 to 1842, and he is credited with transforming the nearly 300-year-old school into the paragon of private education in England. Perhaps a bigger accomplishment was staying on good terms with his son, poet Matthew Arnold, while also being his principal. For even more options this Father’s Day, check out these stepdad quotes, which will help you tell your stepfather how much he means to you.

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14. “The Father’s Love” by Mary Eliza Perine Tucker

Far more priceless than the diamonds rare from Golconda’s rich mine;
Far more precious than the laurel wreaths that victor’s brown entwine,
Is the garland that fond memory weaves, and twines about the heart–
For care nor time, nor war nor crime, can make its tints depart.

A mother’s love! most sacred boon to mortals ever given;
‘Tis not of earth; a mother’s love was surely born in heaven!
See with what gentle, tender care her darling child she shields
From harms of life, from every strife this sphere terrestrial yields!

But ah, to me, of all the buds in memory’s garland fair,–
And I have there full many a gem of worth and beauty rare,–
Is remembrance of my Father’s love, that ever shineth bright!
To me, its ray tells of the day that dawns upon the night.

He gave to me a double share,—a Joseph’s sacred part,—
And it twined itself, like ivy-green, about my infant heart.
I have revelled in gay fashion’s throng, have bowed at folly’s shrine,
But I am sure my heart is pure, while Father’s love is mine.

All other love is mockery to this, a Father’s love—
Fit emblem of the strength of His, who dwelleth far above:
More lasting than eternity– more boundless than the sea!
The blessing mine, the ray divine, may Father’s love e’er be.

Here’s a Father’s Day poem for the dad who lights up the lives of his children. Tucker found in her father a source of great inspiration, as can be seen in this second poem praising his abilities as a single parent. The poem uses multiple images to evoke the radiance of her father’s love, a source of eternal brilliance.

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15. “The Bridge Builder” by Anonymous

An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

This anonymous poem talks about the often thankless work that fathers do of paving the way for their children, work that they may never see come to fruition. The payoff is knowing that they’ve made the lives of their children easier, even if they don’t get to witness that progress themselves. The same goes for mothers, by the way, making this a good Mother’s Day poetry option as well.

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16. “Lawyer and child” by James Whitcomb Riley

How large was Alexander, father,
That parties designate
The historic gentleman as rather
Inordinately great?

Why, son, to speak with conscientious
Regard for history,
Waiving all claims, of course, to heights pretentious,—
About the size of me.

How great is Dad? Why, he reaches Alexander the Great levels! That’s the takeaway from James Whitcomb Riley’s playful poem, in which an inquisitive child asks about the ancient king. While the father responds that he’s likely as large as the king was, he hints at something else: He’s likely as great as Alexander too.

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17. “This Light of Seville” by Antonio Machado

This light of Seville… Is the mansion
where I was born, with its rumor of a fountain.
My father, in his study. The high forehead,
The brief goatee, the sleek moustache.

My father, still young. He reads, writes, leafs
through his books and ponders. He rises;
He goes toward the garden door. He strolls,
sometimes talking to himself, sometimes singing.

His large eyes with their restless gaze
now seem to wander, settling on
no object, in empty space.

And now they escape his yesterday to his tomorrow
now they see through time–my father!–
piously, my graying head.

Legendary Spanish poet Antonio Machado time-travels to see his father as a young man in this unforgettable poem. Within a few short lines, Machado has managed to turn the tables on the traditional relationship between father and son, seeing his own father—still young—through the eyes of maturity and age.

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See Also

‘Song of Myself’: A Poem by Walt Whitman

18. “Parenthood” by John Farrar

The birches that dance on the top of the hill
Are so slender and young that they cannot keep still,
They bend and they nod at each whiff of a breeze,
For you see they are still just the children of trees.

But the birches below in the valley are older,
They are calmer and straighter and taller and colder.
Perhaps when we’ve grown up as solemn and grave,
We, too, will have children who do not behave!

If you’re a parent, you’ll relate to John Farrar’s “Parenthood”—as will your dad. This playful yet evocative poem likens generations of people to generations of trees. It also winks at Dad, saying, “Now that I have kids, I understand what you went through.” This is a great piece of poetry to give your husband on Father’s Day too.

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19. “Book-Lover” by Ralph Bergengren

My Pop is always buying books:
So that Mom says his study looks
Just like an old book store.
The book shelves are so full and tall
They hide the paper on the wall,
And there are books just everywhere,
On table, window seat, and chair,
And books right on the floor.

And every little while he buys
More books, and brings them home and tries
To find a place where they will fit,
And has an awful time of it.

Once when I asked him why he got
So many books, he said, “Why not?”
I’ve puzzled over that a lot.

You might have to replace “books” with your father’s collectible of choice, but this funny Father’s Day poem has nearly universal appeal. And at least you already know what to give Dad as a present.

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20. “What My Father Was to Me” by D.G. Bechers

I know just what my father was to me
And is unto this day;
And so unto my boy would I as truly be
And in the selfsame way,
I honored, loved, respected him and he
Gave me his love as pay !
I pass it on unto that boy of mine
And hope and dream and pray
I may so live that he may know the fine
True things of life and may
Honor and love, respect, obey
His father in a better, nobler way
Than I did mine.

This Father’s Day poem is perfect if you’re also a dad. In simple, clear language, it acknowledges the beauty of passing down good parenting, love and kindness from one generation to the next. Who knows, maybe sharing Father’s Day poems can become part of your tradition (that, or singing some sweet Father’s Day songs).

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21. “Authorship” by Rabindranath Tagore

You say that father writes a lot of books, but what he writes I don’t understand.
He was reading to you all the evening, but could you really make out what he meant?
What nice stories, mother, you can tell us! Why can’t father write like that, I wonder?
Did he never hear from his own mother stories of giants and fairies and princesses?
Has he forgotten them all?
Often when he gets late for his bath you have to go and call him a hundred times.
You wait and keep his dishes warm for him, but he goes on writing and forgets.
Father always plays at making books.
If ever I go to play in father’s room, you come and call me, “what a naughty child!”
If I make the slightest noise, you say, “Don’t you see that father’s at his work?”
What’s the fun of always writing and writing?
When I take up father’s pen or pencil and write upon his book just as he does, — a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, — why do you get cross with me, then, mother?
You never say a word when father writes.
When my father wastes such heaps of paper, mother, you don’t seem to mind at all.
But if I take only one sheet to make a boat with, you say, “Child, how troublesome you are!”
What do you think of father’s spoiling sheets and sheets of paper with black marks all over on both sides?

Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913, the same year that Crescent Moon, the book of poems containing “Authorship,” was published. (Gandhi was a close personal friend.) The author of more than 50 volumes of poetry, Tagore is probably the father being lightly mocked in this poem. Despite his literary stature, he didn’t take himself too seriously, as this poem shows. If your dad spends a lot of time on a particular hobby, this will probably make him laugh too.

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22. “The Secret Heart” by Robert P. Tristram Coffin

Across the years he could recall
His father one way best of all.

In the stillest hour of night
The boy awakened to a light.

Half in dream he saw his sire
With his great hands full of fire,

The man had struck a match to see
If his son slept peacefully.

He held his palms each side the spark
His love had kindled in the dark.

His two hands were curved apart
In the semblance of a heart.

He wore, it seemed to his small son,
A bare heart on his hidden one.

A heart that gave out such a glow
No son awake could bear to know.

It showed a look upon a face
Too tender for the day to trace.

One instant, it lit all about,
And then the secret heart went out.

But it shone long enough for one
To know that hands help up the sun.

The image of the father lighting a match in this poem embodies one of those moments when day-to-day love becomes powerfully visible. This unforgettable poem is sure to touch the heart of your dad and let him know you see him, especially if he’s the type to show his love in quieter ways.

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23. “To My Father” by William Hamilton Hayne

It matters not that Time has shed
His thawless snow upon your head,—
For he maintains, with wondrous art,
Perpetual summer in your heart.

This short poem expresses that age is really only a number when it comes to dads. Whether your father has a few gray hairs, a head of all white or no hair at all makes no difference. What counts is what’s in his heart.

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24. “A Boy and His Dad” by Edgar Guest

A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
There is a glorious fellowship!
Father and son and the open sky
And the white clouds lazily drifting by,
And the laughing stream as it runs along
With the clicking reel like a martial song,
And the father teaching the youngster gay
How to land a fish in the sportsman’s way.

I fancy I hear them talking there
In an open boat, and the speech is fair.
And the boy is learning the ways of men
From the finest man in his youthful ken.
Kings, to the youngster, cannot compare
With the gentle father who’s with him there.
And the greatest mind of the human race
Not for one minute could take his place.

Which is happier, man or boy?
The soul of the father is steeped in joy,
For he’s finding out, to his heart’s delight,
That his son is fit for the future fight.
He is learning the glorious depths of him,
And the thoughts he thinks and his every whim;
And he shall discover, when night comes on,
How close he has grown to his little son.

A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
Builders of life’s companionship!
Oh, I envy them, as I see them there
Under the sky in the open air,
For out of the old, old long-ago
Come the summer days that I used to know,
When I learned life’s truths from my father’s lips
As I shared the joy of his fishing-trips.

If your dad loves to fish, this is the perfect poem for him. It reminds us how sharing a hobby and time in nature is a beautiful way for a father and child to get to know and learn from each other. It’s a nature poem that not only celebrates the natural world but also the simple act of being present in the great outdoors.

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25. “The Things That Count” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Now, dear, it isn’t the bold things,
Great deeds of valour and might,
That count the most in the summing up of life at the end of the day.
But it is the doing of old things,
Small acts that are just and right;
And doing them over and over again, no matter what others say;
In smiling at fate, when you want to cry, and in keeping at work when you want to play—
Dear, those are the things that count.

And, dear, it isn’t the new ways
Where the wonder-seekers crowd
That lead us into the land of content, or help us to find our own.
But it is keeping to true ways,
Though the music is not so loud,
And there may be many a shadowed spot where we journey along alone;
In flinging a prayer at the face of fear, and in changing into a song a groan—
Dear, these are the things that count.

My dear, it isn’t the loud part
Of creeds that are pleasing to God,
Not the chant of a prayer, or the hum of a hymn, or a jubilant shout or song.
But it is the beautiful proud part
Of walking with feet faith-shod;
And in loving, loving, loving through all, no matter how things go wrong;
In trusting ever, though dark the day, and in keeping your hope when the way seems long—
Dear, these are the things that count.

This philosophical poem is perfect for the father who helped shape your worldview. On Father’s Day, it could be a good starting point for reflecting on what you’ve learned from life and from each other.

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26. “To His Father” by Robinson Jeffers

Christ was your lord and captain all your life,
He fails the world but you he did not fail,
He led you through all forms of grief and strife
Intact, a man full-armed, he let prevail
Nor outward malice nor the worse-fanged snake
That coils in one’s own brain against your calm,
That great rich jewel well guarded for his sake
With coronal age and death like quieting balm.
I Father having followed other guides
And oftener to my hurt no leader at all,
Through years nailed up like dripping panther hides
For trophies on a savage temple wall
Hardly anticipate that reverend stage
Of life, the snow-wreathed honor of extreme age.

This poem thoughtfully considers the very different paths Robinson Jeffers and his father took in life. Jeffers’ father was a professor of Old Testament literature and biblical history at a seminary in Pennsylvania, but Jeffers was more drawn to the spiritual possibilities of the natural world. Although he and his father made different decisions in life and followed different spiritual compasses, the poem expresses respect for both.

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27. “Her Father” by Thomas Hardy

I met her, as we had privily planned,
Where passing feet beat busily:
She whispered: “Father is at hand!
He wished to walk with me.”

His presence as he joined us there
Banished our words of warmth away;
We felt, with cloudings of despair,
What Love must lose that day.

Her crimson lips remained unkissed,
Our fingers kept no tender hold,
His lack of feeling made the tryst
Embarrassed, stiff, and cold.

A cynic ghost then rose and said,
“But is his love for her so small
That, nigh to yours, it may be read
As of no worth at all?

“You love her for her pink and white;
But what when their fresh splendours close?
His love will last her in despite
Of Time, and wrack, and foes.”

If you’re looking for a Father’s Day poem for a father-in-law, Thomas Hardy’s “Her Father” is a good pick. Even as a young man, the poet acknowledges that a father’s love for his daughter is worthy of respect and is, in fact, something to aspire to. Turning the typical love poem for women on its head, “Her Father” instead admits that perhaps a father’s love is as strong as romantic love.

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28. “You are old, Father William” by Lewis Carroll

“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”

“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.”

“You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door –
Pray, what is the reason of that?”

“In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
“I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment – one shilling the box –
Allow me to sell you a couple?”

“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak –
Pray how did you manage to do it?”

“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.”

“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –
What made you so awfully clever?”

“I have answered three questions, and that is enough,”
Said his father; “don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’ll kick you down stairs!”

If you want a poem to make both you and your father laugh, this Alice in Wonderland quote will do just the trick. Even though Lewis Carroll picks very silly talents for Father William to have maintained over the years, it’s still a playful celebration of the wisdom and freedom from embarrassment that comes with age.

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29. “On the Author’s Father” by Robert Burns

O ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains,
Draw near with pious rev’rence and attend!
Here lie the loving husband’s dear remains,
The tender father and the gen’rous friend.
The pitying heart that felt for human woe;
The dauntless heart that feared no human pride;
The friend of man, to vice alone a foe;
“For ev’n his failings lean’d to virtue’s side.”

This funeral poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns is a beautiful way to remember a father who has passed away. The final line is high praise—if his father’s bad qualities were nearly positive ones, he must have been quite a man.

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30. “A Bit of Gladness” by Hattie Howard

As I near my lonely cottage,
At the close of weary day,
There’s a little bit of gladness
Comes to meet me on the way:
Dimpled, tanned, and petticoated,
Innocent as angels are,
Like a smiling, straying sunbeam
Is my Stella – like a star.

Soon a hand of tissue-softness
Slips confidingly in mine,
And with tender look appealing
Eyes of beauty sweetly shine;
Like a gentle shepherd guiding
Some lost lamb unto the fold,
So she leads me homeward, prattling
Till her stories are all told.

“Papa, I’m so glad to see you –
Cousin Mabel came today –
And the gas-man brought a letter
That he said you’d better pay –
Yes, and awful things is happened:
My poor kitty’s drowned to death –
Mamma’s got the ‘Pigs in Clover’ – ”
Here she stops for want of breath.

I am like the bold knight-errant,
From his castle who would roam,
Trusting her, my faithful steward,
For a strict account of home;
And each day I toil, and hazard
All that any man may dare,
For a resting-place at even,
And the love that waits me there.

And sometimes I look with pity
On my neighbor’s mansion tall:
There are chambers full of pictures,
There are marbles in the hall,
Yet with all the signs of splendor
That may gild a pile of stone,
Not a living thing about it
But the owner, grim and lone.

I believe that all his millions
He would give without repine
For a little bit of gladness
In his life, like that in mine;
This it is that makes my pathway
Beautiful, wherever trod,
Keeps my soul from wreck and ruin,
Keeps me nearer to my God.

This poem, told from the point of view of the father, celebrates how a good relationship between father and child is worth far more than material comforts or money. If your father is worth millions to you, show him how you feel by sharing this poem with him.

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31. “Anecdote for Fathers” by William Wordsworth

I have a boy of five years old;
His face is fair and fresh to see;
His limbs are cast in beauty’s mould,
And dearly he loves me.

One morn we strolled on our dry walk,
Our quiet home all full in view,
And held such intermitted talk
As we are wont to do.

My thoughts on former pleasures ran;
I thought of Kilve’s delightful shore,
Our pleasant home when spring began,
A long, long year before.

A day it was when I could bear
Some fond regrets to entertain;
With so much happiness to spare,
I could not feel a pain.

The green earth echoed to the feet
Of lambs that bounded through the glade,
From shade to sunshine, and as fleet
From sunshine back to shade.

Birds warbled round me — and each trace
of inward sadness had its charm;
Kilve, thought I, was a favored place,
And so is Liswyn farm.

My boy beside me tripped, so slim
And graceful in his rustic dress!
And, as we talked, I questioned him,
In very idleness.

Now tell me, had you rather be,
I said, and took him by the arm,
On Kilve’s smooth shore, by the green sea,
Or here at Liswyn farm?

In careless mood he looked at me,
While still I held him by the arm,
And said, At Kilve I’d rather be
Than here at Liswyn farm.

Now, little Edward, say why so:
My little Edward, tell me why. —
I cannot tell, I do not know. —
Why, this is strange, said I;

For, here are woods, hills smooth and warm:
There surely must some reason be
Why you would change sweet Liswyn farm
For Kilve by the green sea.

At this, my boy hung down his head,
He blushed with shame, nor made reply;
And three times to the child I said,
Why, Edward, tell me why?

His head he raised — there was in sight,
It caught his eye, he saw it plain —
Upon the house-top, glittering bright,
A broad and gilded vane.

Then did the boy his tongue unlock,
And eased his mind with this reply:
At Kilve there was no weather-co*ck;
And that’s the reason why.

O dearest, dearest boy! my heart
For better lore would seldom yearn,
Could I but teach the hundredth part
Of what from thee I learn.

This poem by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth is subtitled “Shewing how the art of lying may be taught.” Little Edward doesn’t know why he prefers Kilve, but to try to meet his father’s expectations, he casts around for a reason and says it’s because of the weatherco*ck. The speaker, rather than chastise his son, understands that his son has lied in order to please him. Rather than assuming his son is the one in the wrong, the father considers the lesson: Don’t pressure a child to see the world the way we do.

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32. “Father” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

He never made a fortune, or a noise
In the world where men are seeking after fame;
But he had a healthy brood of girls and boys
Who loved the very ground on which he trod.
They thought him just little short of God;
Oh you should have heard the way they said his name –
‘Father.’

There seemed to be a loving little prayer
In their voices, even when they called him ‘Dad.’
Though the man was never heard of anywhere,
As a hero, yet somehow understood
He was doing well his part and making good;
And you knew it, by the way his children had
Of saying ‘Father.’

He gave them neither eminence nor wealth,
But he gave them blood untainted with a vice,
And opulence of undiluted health.
He was honest, and unpurchable and kind;
He was clean in heart, and body, and in mind.
So he made them heirs to riches without price –
This father.

He never preached or scolded; and the rod –
Well, he used it as a turning pole in play.
But he showed the tender sympathy of God.
To his children in their troubles, and their joys.
He was always chum and comrade with his boys,
And his daughters – oh, you ought to hear them say
‘Father.’

Now I think of all achievements ’tis the least
To perpetuate the species; it is done
By the insect and the serpent, and the beast.
But the man who keeps his body, and his thought,
Worth bestowing on an offspring love-begot,
Then the highest earthly glory he was won,
When in pride a grown-up daughter or a son
Says ‘That’s Father.’

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was a popular poet in her day, known for her positive and inspirational poems. To her, the greatest thing a father can do is keep himself as healthy as possible, both physically and emotionally, so he can be a good dad. It’s a great poem to show your father how much you admire and appreciate him and the human he is.

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33. “Distant Footsteps” by César Vallejo

My father is sleeping. His noble features
reflect a gentle heart.
How sweet he is;
if anything in him is bitter, it must be me.

There is solitude at home, and prayer,
and there isn’t any news of the children today.
My father wakes up. He considers
the flight into Egypt, the bitter goodbye.
How near he is;
if anything in him is distant, it must be me.

And my mother, who moves through
the orchard, tasting a taste grown tasteless:
how soft she is,
how very wing, how departure, how love.

There is solitude at home, no sound,
no news, no green, no childhood.
And if anything this afternoon is broken,
and is going down and creaking,
it’s two old lanes white and curving,
and my heart is walking along them now.

This poem by Peruvian poet César Vallejo is complex and reflective. Rather than try to paint an unbiased picture of his parents, Vallejo explores the difference between his perception of them and who they are, and how his relationship influences how he sees them. After he considers each of his parents, the poet abandons himself to emotion and lets his heart approach them.

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34. “To her father” by Louisa May Alcott

Like Bunyan’s pilgrim with his pack,
Forth went the dreaming youth
To seek, to find, and make his own
Wisdom, virtue, and truth.
Life was his book, and patiently
He studied each hard page;
By turns reformer, outcast, priest,
Philosopher and sage.

Christ was his Master, and he made
His life a gospel sweet;
Plato and Pythagoras in him
Found a disciple meet.
The noblest and best his friends,
Faithful and fond, though few;
Eager to listen, learn, and pay
The love and honor due.

Power and place, silver and gold,
He neither asked nor sought;
Only to serve his fellowmen,
With heart and word and thought.
A pilgrim still, but in his pack
No sins to frighten or oppress;
But wisdom, morals, piety,
To teach, to warn and bless.

The world passed by, nor cared to take
The treasure he could give;
Apart he sat, content to wait
And beautifully live;
Unsaddened by long, lonely years
Of want, neglect, and wrong,
His soul to him a kingdom was,
Steadfast, serene, and strong.

Magnanimous and pure his life,
Tranquil its happy end;
Patience and peace his handmaids were,
Death an immortal friend.
For him no monuments need rise,
No laurels make his pall;
The mem’ry of the good and wise
Outshines, outlives them all.

Louisa May Alcott, author of the classic novel Little Women, praises her father as a man of integrity who loved knowledge, shunned greed and lived to help others. He was “content” to “beautifully live”—there is no higher compliment than that! Though a wonderful poem to send your father, the moving verses will also help you remember and celebrate a dad who has passed away.

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Sources:

• My Father by Eduardo Moga, printed with permission of the author
• Internet Archive: “Father: An Anthology of Verse”
• The Nobel Prize: “Rabindranath Tagore”
• Sylvan Lyrics and Other Verses by William Hamilton Hayne
• Academy of American Poets: “Robinson Jeffers”
• Academy of American Poets: “Ella Wheeler Wilcox”

Originally Published: May 24, 2023