A Boy And His Dad

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 speech is fair;

And the boy is learning the ways of men

  From the finest man in his youthful ken.

Kings, to 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.

Oh, I envy them, as I see them there

  Under the sky in the open air,

For out of the the old, old long-ago

  Come the summer days that I used to know,

When I learned life's truth from my father's lips

  As I shared the joy of his fishing trips-

A boy and his dad on a fishing trip-

  Builders of life's companionship!

"A Boy And His Dad"From a painting by M. L. Bower.