By Madison S. Hughes (05.30.2009)
Not quite the ides of March,
A day shy of a fortnight before.
Marks the date each year
Of which I abhor.Unlike Caesar,
Remembered by all.
There was a great man
Unknown after his fall.Known by few,
And that is too bad.
Greater than many,
He was my Dad.
Always Question Authority 
I figured I was just barely skimming the surface of what this poem has to offer. I’m glad I ran across you’re blog. I don’t have to agree with you politically to acknowledge you have a way with words. I hope you have very blessed day!
I read this several times yesterday and for some reason I assumed it was your Father’s Birthday…after his death. I don’t know why I assumed this. The poem does not actually say it. So, I figure I’m probably way off course. I write songs and I know that music can touch people in many different ways; sometimes in ways I would have never thought when I wrote the lyric. So the words of your poem made me think of my Dad who turns 80 in September. He is such a wonderful man and I’ve been blessed to have spent so many years with him on this earth. If he was gone, I think the hardest time of each year for me would not be the day of his death…but the day of his birth.
Danny Ray,
It was the date of my fathers death, hence the title, “The Date That I Abhor.” “The ides of March,” is the March 15th, the date of Caesar’s death. A “fortnight” is a period of 14 days, so “A day shy of a fortnight,” is 13 days. So, “Not quite the ides of March, A day shy of a fortnight before,” translates to 15 – 13 = 2. My father died on March 2.
To be more specific, he died on March 2, 2001. Initially, I thought of his life as being a countdown because of the 3d month, 2d day, 1st year, i.e., 3-2-1, but for reasons I don’t recall, I, instead tied it into the date of Caesar’s death even though my fathers demise was not by murder.
You are fortunate to have a parent live to such a deep winter of age, as my father passed at 61, and my mother at 22. I can’t say for sure how you will react if you live to see the passing of your father, as for me, its been over ten years, and not a day goes by that he does not cross my mind.
In Reason,
Madison
Loved this Madison! Thanks for sharing:) Danny Ray
Danny Ray,
I appreciate your comment, and I thank you. Were you able to figure out the actual date of which I Abhor?
In Reason,
Madison