Daddy's Poem
(Anonymous)
Her hair was up in a pony tail,
her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
and she couldn't wait to go.
But her mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home.
The other kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone.
But she was not afraid;
she knew just what to say,
what to tell her classmates,
why Daddy wasn't there today.
But still her mother worried
for her to face this day alone.
And that was why, once again,
she tried to keep her daughter home.
But the little girl went to school.
She was eager to tell them all
about a dad she never sees,
a dad who never calls.
There were daddies along the wall
in back, for all to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
children anxious in their seats.
One by one the teacher called
on a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
as seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name,
every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
for a man who wasn't there.
"Where's her daddy at?"
she heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one,"
another student dared to shout.
And from somewhere near the back,
she heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offend her,
as she smiled up at her Mom.
She looked back at her teacher,
who told her to go on.
With her hands behind her back,
she slowly began to speak.
From out of the mouth of a child,
came words so incredibly unique.
"My Daddy couldn't be here,
he lives too far away,
but I know he wishes he could be,
since it's such a special day,
and though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know
all about my daddy,
and how he loves me so.
He loved to tell me stories,
taught me how to ride my bike,
he surprised me with pink roses,
and taught me how to fly a kite.
We liked to share fudge sundaes,
and ice cream in a cone,
and though you cannot see him,
I'm not standing here alone.
My daddy's always with me,
even though we are apart.
I know, because he told me
he'll be forever in my heart.
And then, her little hand reached up
and lay across her chest.
She was feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favorite dress.
From somewhere in the crowd of dads,
her mother stood in tears,
proudly watching her daughter,
who was wise beyond her years.
Her daughter stood up for the love
of a man not in her life,
doing what was best for her,
doing what was a right,
and when she dropped her hand back down,
staring straight into the crowd,
she finished with a voice so soft,
but its message was clear and loud.
"I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star,
and if he could be, he'd be here,
but heaven's just too far.
You see, my daddy was a soldier
and he died just this past year,
when a roadside bomb hit his convoy
and taught Americans to fear.
Sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away.
Then she slowly closed her eyes,
and she saw him there that day.
And to her mother's amazement,
she witnessed with surprise,
a room full of daddies and children,
who also closed their eyes.
Who knows what they saw before them.
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps, for merely a second,
they saw her daddy at her side.
"I know you're with me Daddy,"
to the silence she called out,
and what happened next made believers,
of all those once filled with doubt.
No one in the room could explain it,
for their eyes had all been closed,
but there on the desk beside her,
was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
A child was blessed for a moment,
by the love of her shining star,
and she was given the gift of believing
that heaven is never too far ...
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