In his poignant poem Answering Dad Back, Tony Maude delves into the essence of achievement and the pressures of measuring up to expectations. This beautifully crafted piece reflects the seemingly mundane tasks that often go unnoticed yet hold intrinsic value.
The poem opens with a gentle, recurring question: “What have you achieved this week?” This query, posed by a father, echoes through time, symbolising the persistent pressure to prove one’s worth. The speaker recalls various moments, from earning money through painting to engaging in casual conversations with a cashier, each seemingly trivial in the grand scope of life’s achievements.
However, the poem takes a turn as the speaker recounts a morning in January, waking early to witness a winter scene transformed by frost. This moment of stillness and natural beauty becomes a significant achievement in itself. Through the simple act of observing and appreciating the world, the speaker finds a deeper sense of accomplishment. The detailed description of the frost-covered landscape, the “sparkling jewellery” adorning everything in sight, highlights the magic found in everyday moments.
Tony Maude’s ability to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary reminds us that not all achievements are marked by grand gestures or notable feats. Sometimes, the most profound accomplishments lie in our ability to observe, appreciate, and reflect on the world around us. In a society often driven by tangible successes, “Answering Dad Back” is a gentle nudge to find value in the quiet, introspective moments that shape our experiences.
Listen to an audio sample of “Answering Dad Back” and let the words resonate with your own reflections on achievement and the beauty of life’s simple pleasures.
Answering Dad Back
What have you achieved this week?
Your gentle question
Stuck
In my ear.What have you achieved this week?
I hear it ringing down the years
The thousand times
the boy has racked his brain,
“Let me see, let me see,
What can I drum up
Present for scrutiny?”So what have I achieved this week?
Let me see, let me see
I’ve earned a couple of hundred quid
Painting an apartment,
Not sure that even registers
On the meter of achievement..I had a chat in Sainsburys
With a friendly cashier,
She told me ’bout her holiday,
Mykonos this yearSo what have I achieved?
Let me see, let me see
Not very much I’d say
If this poem’s to be believed,
But there was one thing
Maybe this.
Seriously.In your house at the beginning of the week,
This cold, dark January,
I got up at ten past six,
Drew the curtains, half asleep,
In the night, the frost had come,
Jack Frost, the famous one
And covered everything in sight
With sparkling jewelry
The cricket field, the russet pine,
The iron railings, the washing line,
The bird-table, the wooden fence,
The garage roof, the bare stems
Of creepers and the sleeping flowers.
Everything
Sizzling,
Bubbling in the cauldron
Of Winter’s alchemyI stood and gazed for twenty minutes
through the steam
from a cup a tea.
So what have I achieved this week?
No feat of great renown,
But,
I’ve seen the visible world on a winter’s
dawn
and managed
to write it down.
TONY MAUDE ©
