Some men would rather die 
than let others see them cry. 
Others will shed tears of joy 
at the slightest provocation. 
My father was one of the latter. 

Mama said Papa cried the first time 
he saw me in her arms, as a doctor 
had warned him we both might die. 
After hours of prayer, he shed tears, 
sure his appeals had induced a miracle. 

He cried at my accomplishments—
straight A’s, spelling bee winner, 
sale of a short story to a journal, 
full ride to the State University. 
Many events triggered his tears. 

On my wedding day, he entered the 
Bridal Room, saw me in my gown, 
and a river flowed. “I’m so proud 
to be your Papa.” Wiping away tears, 
he smiled and led me down the aisle. 

Two years later, my husband and I 
carried infant twin boys off a flight 
to my father, waiting at the gate. 
His tears streamed. “First time he’s 
seen them, right?” passengers asked.  

Years later, traveling through Hungary, 
I heard a violin and entered a café. 
The violinist grinned, pointed at me, and 
played a song every Hungarian father 
sings to his daughter. My tears flowed. 

—Poem was first published in Margaret Duda’s collection of poetry, I Come from Immigrants, and appears here with her permission.

Photograph (1962): The poet’s father walking her down the aisle.
(One of 26 photographs in I Come from Immigrants.)

Details about the photographer are no longer available.
Image appears here with poet’s permission.

Margaret Duda,

the daughter of Hungarian immigrants, is the author of I Come from Immigrants, a collection of poetry published this summer by Kelsay Books. “On the Wall Forever,” one of the poems from her book, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Her poetry has appeared in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Verse-Virtual, The Muddy River Review, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, Silver Birch Press, Red Eft Review, and six anthologies in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, she writes short stories, one of which appears on the Distinctive list of Best American Short Stories, and is working on the final draft of a novel about immigrants set in a steel mill town in the Mon Valley south of Pittsburgh.

Margaret is also the author of six books of non-fiction, a journalist, a playwright, and a photographer. Mother of four and grandmother to seven, she resides in State College, Pennsylvania.

Photograph of the poet © by Savita Sittler.
All rights reserved. Image appears here with permissions.