I Love You, Daddy
The smell would hit me like a slap in the face
My daddy was a patient in that place
I would find him sitting in his chair alone
I wished he didn’t live in a nursing home
How I longed to take him home with me
I couldn’t afford to stay with him, you see
He might wander off and I had to make a living
How I hated doing this for he had been so giving
He worked so hard, he had been a good Dad
Providing for the big family he and Mama had
Now Mama had gone on up to heaven
It was up to me, youngest of the seven
I would feel so guilty leaving him there
I was afraid he might think I didn’t care
His mind slipped away to some other place
Most days he didn’t even recognize my face
“I love you daddy,” I would always say
Hoping he would know me that day
He did recognize me one last time
It's a favorite little memory of mine
He looked at me with clear recognition
He patted my arm and asked this question
“Baby, are you still teaching school?”
I broke down and cried like a blubbering fool
On the day he died, I was there with him
I fed him ice and sang to him a favorite hymn
I wish he had known and had felt my touch
Daddy’s ‘baby girl’ misses him so much
Copyright © Anita Lovelace | Year Posted 2005
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