A Daughter's Ode To Her Father and A Father Figure

Guest Poetry by Kani Manoharan Veeramarthini 

Miss you Dad

It’s a rose garden

Yes it’s your heart

Every time I enter for solace

It fills my nostrils with the smell of love

Cassia fistula, aka "Golden shower tree," native to the Indian subcontinent & nearby regions of Southeast Asia

When I made mistakes

The thorns only pricked me lightly

Made me understand not every mistake

Can be accepted

Not every mistake goes unpunished

It’s a jasmine garden

Yes your words

It comforts me when I am depressed

It carries me in a carriage of confidence

Protecting me during times of uncertainty

It’s a golden shower tree

Yes your love for me

It has never ceased

It has never let me down

You have always wrapped

Me under your wings of warmth

I still remember the days

I ran to you as a child,

asking you to carry me,

to twirl me up in the air.

The greasy smell from your work

lingers behind my glassy, staring eyes.

You have never disappointed me.

there were times I disappointed you

talked back to you

I know I have been selfish at times, 

harsh at times

Yet you never hated me

Never disowned me

Never abandoned me

Never ever told me how hurt you felt.

It took me years to understand

how you must have actually

felt with

my unempathetic feelings.

When I finally understood and came back

to you,

you were waiting for me

With your warm smile

It's been thirteen years

since I last saw you in person

WhatsApp calls,

FaceTime calls,

Skype calls—

They seem to cover the loneliness,

but distance can never truly be shortened

by the fillers I use during calls.

I miss your touch,

The touch that always

made me feel valued.

I miss that, Dad.

* * *

Kalaignar, My Philosophical Father

I was seven when I came to know

who you were.

Muthuvel Karunanidhi, popularly known as Kalaignar, was an Indian politician, writer and screenwriter

My grandfather pointed at your picture

and introduced you, saying,

"He made it possible

that we are here today."

I saw your picture

with your tender smile,

with your hands holding a pen.

You wrote throughout your life.

You were not just a writer;

you were an epitome of statesmanship.

I learnt social justice from you.

I learnt the art of using a pen

to stitch literature

with the voices of the common people

from you.

Your political life was

shaped by turbulence

From a socially marginalized background, your journey to the pinnacle of leadership was through hardship.

You were tainted by allegations, but each time you emerged from them stain-free.

You were betrayed.

You were imprisoned.

Yet you never stopped

working for the people.

You endured every season—

storms of opposition,

summers of victory,

and winters of loneliness.

You laid the foundations of infrastructure—schools, colleges, hospitals, 

small-scale industries and information technology.

You reversed the privatization of transport.

You reversed the privatization of electricity.

You made a renaissance possible.

When you were tired

of constant criticism

and backstabbing,

you sought shelter in literature.

You kept writing.

I learnt the pronunciation I learnt the pauses and diction

of an orator

by watching you speak.

Nature may have taken you

into its eternal embrace,

yet I find you still—

in the fragrance of the earth after rain,

in the whisper of leaves,

in the warmth of the morning sun,

and in every thought

that seeks justice over privilege.

For great souls who lived for the people

do not vanish with time.

They become the wind we breathe,

the shade that shelters us,

the light that guides us,

and the conscience of generations yet to come.

Even today,

when I reach for a pen,

I find traces of you

between my thoughts and my ink.

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Daddying Film Festival & Forum 2027

Call for Entries Just around the corner!

Fathers' Day, June 21, 2026

Save the Dates: The 6th annual, virtual Daddying Film Festival will take place on Eventive, January 11-20, 2027, and our LIVE Daddying Film Forum will screen Atticus Award winners and finalists, January 29-30, 2027! Start planning your submissions now for the D3F 2027 Call for Entries, which opens this Fathers' Day, June 21st.

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Kanimozhi Manoharan Veeramarthini is a poet and writer based in Virginia. She writes in English and Tamil. Her work explores identity, migration, social justice, and resilience. She draws inspiration from everyday lives and unheard voices. She is currently working on English poetry collections and a Tamil social novel.