When Duty Becomes Love

The one who cries without tears, without a sound— That’s a father. The one who wears the cracks of his children’s fate Like bangles on his own wrist— That’s a father. New shoes enter the house, But his soles are worn down to nothing— That’s a father. The one who dreams through others' eyes, And carries those dreams in his heart— That’s a father. It’s true, a mother holds us for nine months in her womb, But the one who carries us in his mind for nine months— That’s a father. A father is a protector, A father is a meal on the table, A father is the one who loses to his own children Just to make them smile— That’s a father. A father does everything, but never says— And when we finally understand his worth, By then, he’s already gone far away...