Best Father Daughter Poems
Daddy
Daddy, why did you go away?
Don't you know I wanted you to stay!
Daddy, when you left mom,
Don't you know you left me too?
Now all I do is cry and cry
--- I want to die!
Daddy, mommy say's it's better this way,
What does she know!
They're not enough band-aids to cover up the blues
Mom's kisses can't heal this kind of pain.
Daddy, I look around
No one stands in your garage
Daddy, You took every tool
Except the hammer and sitting stool
Daddy, I still miss you
--- I love you.
***
Dear Daddy, I'm all grown up now
Haven't seen you since I was 10
Daddy, I sit on your favorite chair,
No longer do I miss the way you caressed my hair.
Daddy, I'm taking the old hammer and this BRAND NEW saw,
It's time to patch all the holes mom punched in the wall
*The day you walked out on us*
Daddy, don't worry about the times I tripped and fell
Mom found someone to fix the loose boards,
Got tired of scraping my knees
Daddy, I finally realized I'm okay,
I agree with mom, it's better this way.
by- Not every dad is great (but step-dad YES!)
"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and
can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words"
~ CS Lewis
If ever I don't know your name
recall these words that I now write:
no season ever stays the same -
fall yields to winter, day to night.
If ever I forget your face -
though hard to fathom now, dear child,
I ask you to recall the days
we walked on trails through canyons wild.
Those nights we camped under the stars
and filled our lungs with mountain air,
the trips we took in vans or cars
while singing songs from here to there.
Remember beach days, Sunday hikes,
or at the lake shore skipping stones,
those Saturdays we rode our bikes
for donuts or for ice cream cones.
I hope you won't become too sad
nor let my absence cast a pall,
for I will always be your dad
I pray our good times you'll recall.
Now go and make new memories -
in moving on, you play your part.
Sing soft our favorite melodies,
I'll sing along deep in your heart.
written 25 June 2022
Was it really you dad? Not merely just a dream,
Your wisdom pouring forth to me,
Oh dad, how real it seemed.
You always knew so much dad,
I so respected you. When they
Said that you had cancer,
I thought it was untrue.
You were too strong to die dad,
You fought with all your might,
But Papa, how I long to dream
Again, of you tonight.
Tell me daddy, that it's true,
That dream I had of me and you,
Again, like old days, sitting there,
Those silver strands within your hair.
A crown of wisdom round your head
And wisdom's spoke, those words you said.
I know some dreams are only dreams,
But dad, that seemed so real.
A gift from heaven's angels,
For my broken heart to heal.
You were loved too much to die dad,
And oh, I miss you so!
So, visit me in dreams, Papa,
Until my turn to go.
You grew up going from place to place.
Folk thought you wouldn't amount to a thing.
You were a wander til you heard love calling.
Your life changed on that extraordinary day.
Because your wayward position in life was no more.
You taught me how to recognize true love,
You showed how much I was loved.
You taught me how to ride my first bike.
You showed me how to work hard.
You showed me how to put love into what I did
You showed me how to be proud just being me.
You thought you didn't have purpose or a legacy,
Because you grew up in the foster system.
Boy were you wrong, everything I am is “You”
Many thought you were nothing but a screw up
Boy you proved them all wrong( including you).
Me and my kid was your purpose and legacy,
You were my daddy and an incredible man.
Dedicated to all the incredible fathers everywhere
Alexis Y.
1-4-19
A clutter of wood and dust and cobwebby corners,
And dappled sun shining through dirty windows;
On his work table a drawing; a project in progress,
And tin cans and jars of nails and screws on shelves.
Tools on hooks waiting for hands that will never come,
I touch the old tools like they were the finest of lace;
And I cannot help thinking, who will want all this,
He was a simple man, my father, and I loved him so.
His death was fast, no one expected him to leave,
In a blink he was gone, and all I have are memories;
I linger there with the dust that floats in the sun,
And I weep and weep for what I have lost this day.
Then, I pick up his pencil and on his paper I write,
I write this poem of pain and it is the beginning;
The beginning of my writing as an adult with soul,
I leave the child, that was me, and become a poet,
Today.
_________________________
July 21, 1997
Poetry/Free Verse/Dad's Workshop
Copyright Protected, ID 1997-714-811-0
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym
Entered in the contest, Celebrating My Fav's,
sponsor, Andrea Dietrich
First Place
________________________
Entered in the contest, Any Poem, #36
(a poem that placed in one of her past centests)
sponsor, Poet Destroyer
First Place
________________________
For the contest, A poem written before Poetry Soup,
sponsor, Poet Destroyer
Fourth Place
To my daughter who never listens.
Life is not as simple as a cliché.
It's not lullabies and butterflies.
Not all sounds are soothing,
not all flowers are faithful.
It's not as relaxing as a reverie,
rarely as poetic as a poem,
so you can't hide everything behind metaphors.
You have to express your true verses,
you have to serenade in your own melody -
but never forget the chorus to our song.
Life is full of storytellers who will lead you astray,
so never believe everything you hear or see -
create your own biography, make your own history.
Our existence is fragile like petals,
yet your birth created an oasis in my heart.
I remember when they said you would not blossom,
yet you flourished in essences of evergreen elegance.
I was the first to cradle you in my arms,
as I promised to protect you endlessly.
Hoping that you would soar forever,
spread your wings higher and higher.
We never truly realise the sacrifices of our parents.
I wonder if you will ever know,
how sometimes all I had left was my smile -
never would I reveal my frailties.
It was not a simple case of masculinity,
because even the most ferocious lion cries.
I hope you never face a struggle,
as difficult as the trials forsaken upon me
and
I'm sorry if at times you saw no emotions,
apologies for the tears I never let you see,
nor the fears I never allowed you to feel,
but it was the way I was brought up to be,
it's how reality curated my personality.
If the suppression of my feelings made you distant -
remember a father will always be a shepherd for his flock.
Wars from the past have infiltrated mankind,
yet there will be many battles to come -
just don't fall asleep among heartless sleeping souls.
I shiver upon the thought of our closing goodbye,
when my shield can no longer protect you,
as every knight has to eventually lay down his sword.
The world can be a cruel and wild place,
and I remind you there is always a rainy day,
so choose wisely the paths to ponder upon -
learn how to build your own abode.
You'll always be a baby in my eyes.
I'll always be so proud.
Even in silence... I will forever love you.
Dad.
The father you do not know,
loved you since the day you were born.
Held you carefully in his arms
and promised to always keep you warm.
The father you do not know,
never wanted you to see him weak.
He held you up so high,
so you could reach the sky.
The father you do not know,
sacrificed his own needs.
Even when he was broken and tired,
he ensured you got what you desired.
The father you do not know,
hid his own personal achievements.
His heart only cared about your progress
and was so jubilant in your success.
The father you do not know,
was silly to be so stubborn.
He found it difficult to explain
his dysfunctional sorrow and pain.
He hid it all inside,
you thought it was his pride,
but it was his inner child,
who made him feel exiled.
The father you do not know,
still sang your childhood song.
He was once your hero so strong,
until you thought he had done you wrong.
The father you do not know,
left this world today.
Whispered your name with his last breath,
I hope he finds his peace in death.
Upon waking up this day, a single tear
Father your eternal immortality
Still proves wise and gracious
I haven’t been misled by popular opinion
Which should be taken with a grain of salt
You showed me how to expose the counterfeits
who foster misperceptions,
Which have shaped our faith
How to think with an open mind, heart, and soul
Father, your every word was a rare gift
A worth guide__
A teardrop of glad remembrance and a
Prayer for your soul
As we rode through a fog, my father and I,
the car we were in, seemed to know its way home
Hands on the wheel, without eyes on the road
We were numb from the cold. No words left to say ....
We had prayed through the night in a hospital haze,
clinging to a hope, that had slipped far away
Until the end of the world came upon the new day
Arriving home in the car, unable to talk,
our hopes and our tears had nowhere to land.
If just one would escape, where would it go?
No shoulder, ...no dam. How would they stop?...
My Dad was in shock, as he stood by the gate,
a glaze in his eyes, ......and a million years old
My feet froze in place, and knees shivered cold
but as the sun rose, I reached out to hold
his hand in the dawn, and took the control
I took him inside, and with deliberate intrusion
I fed him some soup, and put him to bed
He was the child, and I the adult
Day after day, somehow by default
our roles were reversed, ...and I became strong
My childhood had ended,.....and his had begun
_______________________________________________________
I laid my heart upon your grave
That winter day when trees were bare;
Their withered leaves fell down to brave
The chill of winter death and share
With you the frozen ground and air.
Cold tears of rain helped to impart
The gloom, as prayer some comfort gave…
But oh, the moaning of my heart.
I plucked a crimson rose that lay
Upon your grave as rain fell down
And joined my tears that solemn day.
I held it to my heart to drown
My hurt, then slowly turned around
To numbly make my way to part
And join with loved ones home to pray…
But oh, the moaning of my heart.
Then April came on quiet feet
To wake the trees with budding bloom.
Thawed ground gave birth, in Springtime heat,
To grass, that hid the ashen gloom.
Now stung to life by Springtime’s womb,
The golden youth of Earth gives start
To find new hope, new season greet…
But oh, the moaning of my heart.
I stand in shadow of death's sting;
Oh Dad, why did you have to part?
Help me to heal with reborn Spring…
But, oh, the moaning of my heart.
There's a little box found in my room,
With heartfelt memories, I won't open soon.
A box of pictures, to reminisce.
They break my heart, it's you I miss.
Portraits of my little girl, When daddy
left, it pained her world.
Oh my precious, I'm deeply sorry,
for hurting you, and causing worry.
A separation that brought you pain,
I wish my love that I could change.
A love a father deeply feels,
I pray in time, your heart would heal.
The years are missing, they pass on by,
I call no answer, there's no reply.
There is a blame I hold inside, and
sadly know the reason why.
There's a little box found in my room,
full of heartfelt memories I won't open soon.
oh come, my dear little wee one
what a long, full day you've had
this is the last that you'll see sun
but please, now, don't you be sad
the sun, just like you, can be shy
though it may never seem in a rush
it will soon give a kiss to the sky
to say its good night with a blush
~
my dear little wee one
do not make a peep
blow a kiss to the sun
as you both welcome sleep
the moon and the stars
will dance with the morn
to spindle dreams, sweet
'til a new day is born
~
oh come, my dear little wee one
it's time to make ready for bed
the blush of the heavens has begun
just like you, its cheeks turn to red
the sun works so hard in the daytime
so it just needs to rest for a while
all day it shines bright in your playtime
but is there every morning to smile
~
my dear little wee one
don't whisper a sound
blow a kiss to the sun
you're both slumber-bound
the moon and the stars
will dance 'til you wake
to spin your dreams, sweet
to the morrow's daybreak
~
oh come, my dear little wee one
as the stars wink pink high above
find your noggin a sky's cloudy pillow
bundled warm in my blanket of love ...
~
my dear little wee one
do not parlay your cry
blow a kiss to the sun
as the eve draws nigh
the moon and the stars
will dance thru the night
to spin your dream, sweet
'til a dawning day's light ...
and remember - I love you ...
with all ... my ... might.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Nursery Rhyme 5" Poetry Contest, Eve Roper, Judge & Sponsor.
A sudden rain
cloaked the rail path
Lightning strikes were furious
Thunder storms drum big
Windows drenched in rain
Unable to see the scenes
Uncertain about the future
As we were trapped inside
Dreading the journey,
Holding my dad's fingers
I closed my eyes;
Leaning on his arms
Lamenting the harms
Frightened me, cried
To wipe out my tears,
he made me hear
his childhood memories
and funny stories
To obliterate my fear,
he enunciated his, failed cracks
and success tracks
"Beleive in the driver
and relish the journey"
He boldly advised
By sharing his life's journey
He made that messy journey
The memorable one
The stories I heard on that ride
could be correlated with all the current
and future circumstances
The lesson I assimilated
Is my guiding light
Even after the halt of the train
The words he uttered
resonated deeply inside
and still resonating
even after his demise
and will keep on resonating
throughout my life
Happy Father's day
searing pain reemerges
each time I pass the hospital
creeping up to burn my eyes
subsiding with time, but never forgotten
when the doctor gave his prognosis
all Dad’s children were there
blades of hopelessness hit my heart
cutting it into pieces
instructions came in his living will
we did as he requested
wishing I could take this last journey with him
but knowing he would want us to thrive
my hand on his, I bowed my head
the puddle beneath me grew with each tear
another loving memory
another agonizing drop
many minutes seemed to pass
after machines were disconnected
too many minutes
too many memories
August 4, 2020
For Constance’s “Dusty Old Memories” contest
Beneath the setting sun, I search gently
In shadows cast by dreams of yesterday
where whispers of the wind sound heavenly
I dance beneath the stars that softly sway
Shizumanu taiyo, where is your light
With every note I play, I sense you near
Guide me through the darkness of the night
so, I can feel your warmth, forever here
Through echoes of the past, I search for meaning
In melodies that vibrate through my heart
Strings of time, leave a child dreaming
of love and loss that never truly part
Shizumanu taiyo, where is your light
With every note I play, I sense you near
Guide me through the darkness of the night
so, I can feel your warmth, forever here
In soft silence I recall your glory
Knowing through storms your embrace keeps me warm
With each chord I strike, I relive your story
Beneath the setting sun, our bond will form
Shizumanu taiyo, where is your light
With every note I play, I sense you near
Guide me through the darkness of the night
so, I can feel your warmth, forever here
As twilight calls and stars sparkle so clear
I'll play one last time with abiding grace
I know your eternal glow will appear
and one day I'll be blessed with your face