My Father

I spoke to my father and it was such a shame. I never saw his face, I barely knew his name. I carry his features, so they say, "You look like him and speak like him in such a way." I spoke to my father and my heart began to bleed because his love I so longed for, his advice I did need. I needed his strong voice when I was a child. I needed his encouragement, if only for a while. I say "needed" because now, I am grown, I am a mother and I have children of my own. His life has been lived and it is slowly seeping away. Today, I spoke to my father, yet I needed him yesterday.