From An Ungrateful Daughter

I blamed you and I know now that I shouldn’t have.
I am sorry.
But he was never there.
An empty seat 
at the dinner table every night,
a lonely walk down the aisle at my wedding,
was all he ever was to me.
I never got the chance to yell at him,
to spill my heart out,
to vent all that anger that had built inside me 
bursting me at the seams,
so I blamed you.
I learned to shoot a basketball,
and how to whistle really loud.
He was never there to teach me,
or give me a hug when I needed it.
Yet somehow I always felt loved,
and cared for.
It was just yesterday that I realized I never needed him.
Everything I needed you gave to me, 
but you never once heard a thank you.

It was just yesterday that I realized I had a mom,
and a dad,
all along.
You gave me that.
You taught me to cook, and how to comb my hair.
You taught me how to read and write.
You taught me to stand on my own two feet,
and how to be a woman.
And I think it’s about time you heard 
a thank you.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2007

Poem

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