Ode To a Father

Where were you when mom brought me home, wrapped in a blanket and all alone? Where were you when I first learned to walk? When I got my first tooth or first learned to talk. You missed my first birthday and my first day of school, when I first learned to read or learned to swim in the pool. You weren't there to tell me things were alright, to help me to pray or to kiss me goodnight. You didn't teach me how to ride a bike, and you didn't teach me the wrongs from the right. You weren't there for my first broken heart, or to tell me I needn't be afraid of the dark. You weren't there to mee my date for the prom, or to see me graduate it was always just mom. Now as I lay these flowers at your stone, I can't help but wonder why you left me all alone. The void that you left is sometimes hard to bear, and now it's too late, because you aren't there.