Please, Dad
As winds sweep away the days,
I look back on life through a haze.
Remember playgrounds, parks and friends,
In childlike gaze that never ends.
The laughter in a game of catch,
Shall memory ever attach….
To innocence in youthful eyes,
Catching the ball to dad’s surprise.
I recall my first bike and the first wreck,
Who picked me up and said “what the heck?”
Convinced me to give it one more try,
While knees skinned, I forgot to cry.
Just the joy knowing he was there,
Make him proud my only care.
There was nothing I couldn’t do,
My heart held fast that to be true.
Though teenage years were kind of rough,
I sure wasn’t too big or tough.
You taught me to defend what’s right,
And never back down from a fight.
So I learned the hard way to stand,
Still with each lump, I found your hand.
Drawing from you an inner strength,
And stubborn pride of equal length.
But there the line of fate was drawn,
As though I blinked and you were gone.
I found myself facing the sun,
Not man, not boy, fatherless one.
Eyes blinded by a void inside,
I could not live know that your love for me has died.
At least finding it to be true,
I could do nothing without you.
Please, Dad today just hear my call,
I’m sorry that I dropped the ball.
My life is wrecked, my knees skinned,
My emotions undisciplined.
I can’t get up although I try,
Please don’t be upset if I cry.
Though I can’t fight what I can’t see,
Please, Dad say you’re still proud of me.
BY: SHELBY BATES
