Father’s Day Feature: Honoring the late Joseph Thomas Baker
On this Father’s Day, Dandelion Scribes presents a special tribute to the late Joseph Thomas Baker of Kentucky. Since his passing in 2011, the treasure trove of poetry he left behind has kept his memory alive in his family’s hearts. In the words of his daughter Allison:
Joseph Thomas Baker.
Our real life superman.
Our hero.
He loved farm work, his family and God.
He always wanted to make someone feel special whether it be with a poem he wrote or something he made just for them.
He never missed the chance to make someone laugh.
Despite all the pain he carried, he always wore a smile.
I can still remember that smile and that laugh...
He was the glue that held our family together and when he passed, this whole world changed.
We've all gone down our dark, hard roads since his passing but we are finally starting to get to the other side, and I know he is so proud of us.
I remember him always writing poetry for people. It was a way for him to say what his mouth couldn't.
I've kept his poetry as treasures, and they mean more to me than any dollar ever could.
So to honor my father, I had a couple of his poems published last year in Hometown Poems. And with the help of the Dandelion Scribes editors, I again get the chance to show the world a huge piece of our hearts and our inspiration.
We love and miss you, Dad.
Happy Father's Day.
Joseph and daughter Allison share a smile and a hug.
𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘
We hope Joseph’s poems remind you that your words are important. Someday, someone will reach for a note you scribbled on a napkin after dinner or a poem you penned when you had nowhere else to turn but to an empty page… and find encouragement & comfort in what you had to say. Someone will understand their own personal struggle through the way you described yours. Someone will find the strength to keep going in the aftermath of chaos & cruelty, with a few of your rhyming couplets ringing in their ears. Someone, somewhere will feel less alone in the world because your words provided a sense of kinship with another human being.
Preserving pieces of himself in poetry—his thoughts, feelings, dreams, observations, and unique sense of humor—allowed Joseph to connect with loved ones in ways that have outlasted any single human life. Below are five poems authored by Joseph, with titles selected by his daughter Allison. Let them speak to you in the voice of a loving father, and let us celebrate the wit and wisdom captured in the words of a poet, too soon departed.
Poems by Joseph Thomas Baker
CLOWNS CRY
To see him out in public
You’d swear he’s a clown
By the smiles he seems to find
When anyone’s around
But when he’s alone
He’s lonely all by himself
So many times he’s even wished
He was someone else
He’s been out a lot of money
For drugs to hide the pain
Until you’ve stood in his shoes
Don’t say you wouldn’t do the same
He’s a real good friend to me
That I won’t deny
If you think he laughs a lot
You ought to see him cry
⚘
DON’T JUDGE ME
Don’t judge me by my clothes
They’re a little out of style
If you judge me by my cover
Please judge me by my smile
Judge me as a loser
I can show nothing that I’ve gained
My smile is but a cover
It helps hide the pain
My eyes have sunken in my head
And wrinkles on my face
I’m not running from anything
I’ve done lost that race
I spend my money on a bottle
And my love for ol’ Jim Beam
My better judgment to my friends
Is not to be like me
⚘
IN FRONT OF STONE AND DIRT
I know when our time is over
We go back to the earth
I may look silly sitting here
In front of stone and dirt
But underneath the red clay
Between stone and stone
I know you're lying there
God's coming to take you home
At least you won't have to suffer
Your dues have all been paid
I just feel I'm closer to you
If I come here to pray
Just remember from time to time
From red clay to stone
Like one time I faced the world
And one time I'll come home
When God needs me worse in heaven
Than people here on earth
When I feel I'm no longer needed
Unable to do much here
When God comes and tells me
It's time to stop my work
⚘
I’M GOING ON AHEAD OF YOU
I'm going on ahead of you
I want you to understand
It's just one more step
To carry out God's plan
And I'll wait here all alone
Angels, please don't cry
Only God knows when it's your turn
To join Him and I
Please be good and be careful
The way I've taught you to
And most of all be ready
When he calls on you
I know you're gonna miss me
It'll be hard to bear
But every single night I'll ask him
If you remembered your prayers
I hope he says you're smiling
And life's treating you okay
But I'm sure it will
Just don't forget to pray
As a father I was there for you
Every time you'd call
But angels just remember
He's the father of us all
⚘
YOURS WOULD BE OF GOLD
Out of all the people in the world
And all there’ll ever be
Everybody's got a favorite someone
And you're the one for me
At night I thank the good Lord
For one more day
And ask him to make you feel
I really feel this way
At times I'm sure you wonder
Just how I feel at heart
In my eyes, there's no one
Any greater than you are
At times you'll hear bad stories
I was mad when I told
If a normal heart was lined with silver
Yours would be of gold
An image of Joseph along with his three children: Allison, Jerami, and Olivia.
IN LOVING MEMORY OF JOSEPH THOMAS BAKER
10/28/1959—01/11/2011
A few final words from Olivia & Jerami–
How has your dad inspired you?
My dad was an inspiration to me because no matter how many times I've seen him struggle, I've never seen him give up. He taught me and my siblings to do our best to make the world a better place any way we could. He taught us the importance of being humble and kind. He taught us to love others the way God loves us because we are all God's children. No better...no worse than anyone else. He taught us that if we want to see a difference in the world, we should be one.
–Olivia
If you had one more chance to talk to your dad, what would you say?
I would tell him I love him so much it hurts sometimes. I hope I haven't disappointed him too much and I can do things right and make him proud. And last, I'd want just 5 more minutes to sit with him and let him know I'm trying my best this time.
–Jerami
𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘
Writing Prompts
Joseph’s writing has inspired Allison to begin a poetry journey of her own. You’ll see one of her original poems published in an upcoming post here on the Scribes! In the meantime, we wish to leave you, dear reader, with a few writing prompts, based on Joseph’s five poems. If you happen to write one, we’d love to see it! Send it in over on our submissions page for a chance to be featured.
In Clowns Cry, the poet writes about a character the world perceives as a “clown” — someone with a friendly, outgoing nature and great sense of humor. However, this clown has an unseen side that suffers and grieves, spending his private time in a great deal of pain. Write your own poem about the different sides of a person. Perhaps the public persona is not the whole story. What do we hide from the world? Who are we behind closed doors?
In Don’t Judge Me, the poet speaks as someone who feels they’ve “lost the race” of life. He identifies his flaws and advises his friends to avoid taking the same unfortunate path. However, perhaps the harsh judgment of others is partially to blame for the way the speaker perceives himself in such a negative light. Write your own poem about feeling judged by others. What is the effect of other people’s comments and corrections and criticisms in your life?
In Front of Stone and Dirt acknowledges that, one day, we will all meet the same fate and finally return home. At the end of the poem, the poet identifies the signs he believes will signal the end of his life: the feeling of work being completed and moving on toward a new purpose in heaven. Imagine yourself “in front of stone and dirt” — marking the end of one life and the beginning of the next. Write a poem in which you explore your own feelings about transitioning from this existence into the next one.
In I’m Going On Ahead of You, the poet acknowledges that one day he will depart from the world, leaving loved ones behind. Knowing this, he chooses to write a message letting his loved ones know how important their happiness is to him. Write your own poem in which you speak beyond the limits of your life. What message do you wish to leave for your loved ones? What do you hope they will remember after you are gone?
Yours Would Be of Gold is a sweet message to the poet’s “favorite someone.” Write your own poem that lets your favorite someone know just how special they are to you. What do you want this special person to know? What could you say to encourage and uplift them?
With endless love & gratitude,
