photo taken by Timothy McGuire
From generation to generation Times have changed so much By leaps and bounds Back when technology did not exist I grew up in a family of 13 kids Survival was the game of life Working hard day and night Trying to make a better life Nothing was easy You just did your best And hoped to reap some reward Since I tried to live my life Like an open book I thought you’d understand I helped raise six hungry kids Fed them, sent them to school And gave them their wings Six impressionable little minds Had I known my words would mean so much All I knew was you needed to be tough To be ready to face life So I taught you what I learned Convinced all you needed were the basics And you would find your way I didn’t think I’d be doing you any favours By painting rosy pictures and I wouldn’t have known how My models were two hard working parents Whose fulltime job was to feed and clothe 13 kids Barely making ends meet No time for dreams, barely time for sleep Too exhausted to even keep up With the treadmill of daily living Like baby birds I sent you off from the nest To stretch your new wings and fly on your own Find your way and do better than me if you could I didn’t think I was remiss I gave it my all Careful not to lose myself in the process Teeter tottering to maintain balance Keeping that all important flame alive within So one day I could be free again to be me I wish I had told you more often That I love you and I’m proud of you I thought my actions would speak louder than words We each have our journey to live and learn from I am watching over you from above Better late than never I want to tell you today that I love you And I hope you have a fulfilling life Until we meet again Dad xx version published in photo/poetry book ~UNCONDITIONAL LOVE LETTER TO MY CHILDREN~ 2020 / photos by TIMOTHY McGUIRE AP: 1st place 2025, 3rd place 2021 PS featured in 2025
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