> Daddy's Poem
>
>
>
> Her hair was up in a pony tail,
>
> her favourite dress tied with a bow.
>
> Today was Daddy's Day at school,
>
> and she couldn't wait to go..
>
>
>
> But her mummy tried to tell her,
>
> that she probably should stay home.
>
> Why the 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
>
> of why he 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
>
> eager to tell them all.
>
> About a dad she never sees
>
> a dad who never calls.
>
>
> There were daddies along the back wall,
>
> for everyone to meet.
>
> Children squirming impatiently,
>
> anxious in their seats
>
>
>
> One by one the teacher called
>
> 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,
>
> 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 Mum.
>
> And looked back at her teacher,
>
> who told her to go on.
>
>
>
>
> And with hands behind her back,
>
> slowly she began to speak
>
> And out from the mouth of a child,
>
> came words incredibly unique.
>
>
>
> 'My Daddy couldn't be here,
>
> because he lives so far away.
>
> But I know he wishes he could be,
>
> since this is such a special day.
>
>
>
> And though you cannot meet him,
>
> I wanted you to know.
>
> All about my daddy,
>
> and how much he loves me so.
>
>
>
> He loved to tell me stories
>
> he taught me to ride my bike.
>
>
> He surprised me with pink roses,
>
> and taught me to fly a kite..
>
>
>
> We used to share fudge sundaes,
>
> and ice cream in a cone.
>
> And though you cannot see him.
>
> I'm not standing here alone.
>
>
>
> 'Cause my daddy's always with me,
>
> even though we are apart
>
> I know because he told me,
>
> he'll forever be in my heart'
>
>
>
>
> With that, her little hand reached up,
>
> and lay across her chest.
>
> Feeling her own heartbeat,
>
> beneath her favourite dress.
>
>
> And from
>
>
> somewhere in the crowd of dads,
>
> her mother stood in tears.
>
> Proudly watching her daughter,
>
> who was wise beyond her years.
>
>
>
> For she stood up for the love
>
> of a man not in her life.
>
>
> Doing what was best for her,
>
> doing what was right.
>
>
>
> And when she dropped her hand back down,
>
> staring straight into the crowd.
>
> She finished with a voice so soft,
>
> but its message clear and loud.
>
>
> 'I love my daddy very much,
>
> he's my shining star.
>
> And if he could, he'd be here,
>
> but heaven's just too far.
>
>
> You see he is a soldier
>
> And died just this past year
>
> When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
>
> and taught brave men to fear.
>
> But sometimes when I close my eyes,
>
> it's like he never went away.'
>
> And then she closed her eyes,
>
> and saw him there that day.
>
>
> And to her mother's amazement,
>
> she witnessed with surprise.
>
> A room full of daddies and children,
>
> all starting to close their eyes.
>
>
> Who knows what they saw before them,
>
> who knows what they felt inside.
>
> Perhaps for merely a second,
>
> they saw him at her side.
>
>
> 'I know you're with me Daddy,'
>
> to the silence she called out.
>
> And what happened next made believers,
>
> of those once filled with doubt.
>
>
> Not one in that room could explain it,
>
> for each of their eyes had been closed.
>
> But there on the desk beside her,
>
> was a fragrant long- stemmed pink rose.
>
>
> And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
> by the love of her shining star.
>
> And given the gift of believing,
>
> that heaven is never too far.