Ode To My Father

You are my root, Daddy.

Buried under the ground without a breath of air.

Desperately,

Spreading your roots deep, deeper,

Till your frenzied soul finds calm when you hear the leaves, above ground, on the tree dancing to the wind.

You are my soul, daddy.

Every time I lose parts of my soul trying to survive.

Selflessly,

You tear out your soul to fix the hole in my soul.

Heavy heart and silently weeping deep inside,

Do I bring you more sadness than the world does?

You are my comfort, daddy.

Far from each other, but I wake up missing you.

There is no one in this world who can ever take your place.

You are the reason I am what I am today.

You are all my reasons.

For as long as I live,

I will always write about you—

the man who gently held my hand my entire life and loved me unconditionally.

The man,

Who was the root,

Exalting his daughter. 

And I,

The brazen tree,

Owing to my existence to him.

Years after years, keeping me alive,

Only so he could listen to the leaves dancing when a breeze passes by. 

To the world, you are the man who heals

With just the touch of your hands.

A man so humble, you stir inspiration in others.

A man so just, you are revered, 

To me, you are the father who forgave

Time and time again,

And never stopped loving me. 

I never asked for forgiveness daddy,

But you forgave me every time you hug me goodbye at airports. 

One day you will be gone from this world,

And when you do, my heart will break into a million pieces.

Waking up every day hoping it was a nightmare.

Praying I could come with you, 

Because I don’t want to be left alone in a world where you do not exist.

No matter how much I want you to stay,

You will have to go. 

And forever I will keep your love in my broken heart.

Forever.

My soul will have a hole in the shape of you. 

I will run my fingers along with the shape of the hole and love you every day, 

Till I get to see you and run into your arms again.

Daddy, 

My hands look exactly like yours.

I will always hold them close to my heart and listen to Don Williams and Simon and Garfunkle.

Every Christmas I will sing “Auld Lang Syne”.

Till the time you are with me.

And when you’re gone, I will sing it for you.

You have given me the greatest love anybody can ever give me.

I hope you know in your heart that I am giving you the greatest love I can ever give.

This is a testament.

This is a proclamation of the love a daughter has for her father.

This is a promise that I always loved you,

And forever I will.

For as long as I live, you have loved daddy.

With pride, I call you my daddy.