Letter To My Father

4/9/16

Dear Dad

Have you ever heard the song 

Piece by Piece

By Kelly Clarkson?

I heard it recently

And I thought of you.

I have so many questions to ask you

You know what it's like 

Not to have a father

So how can you deprive your little girl

Of something so important?

I never got to bring you on parents day

When other little girls 

Triumphantly rode on their father's shoulders

I was stuck holding you on mine.

Your weight has always dragged me down.

I should have written this years ago

Maybe on the day you left me waiting

For hours, staring out the window,

As you had told me the night before you'd take me on a pony ride...

You didn't come.

Maybe it should have been 

Any of the countless birthdays

Where you were conveniently absent.

Maybe when you promised me a road trip to go see my colleges

And we spent a year planning 

Only for you to tell me you "couldn't" and "wouldn't" pay

Maybe I should have done it any of the many times

You sent your "not girlfriend" to buy presents for me for the holidays

In your stead

Because you don't know me or anything I like anymore...

And you should know neither does she, 

(Though she never did and never should).

Maybe I should have done this during any of the long, lonely hours

That I spent in a hospital bed earlier this year.

All that time I thought Daddy was the kind of hero

That could scare away all the monsters,

But the monsters kept coming

And you never did.

I became strong for that

But I still wish you had been my Superman

Like every other little girl's daddy was.

Im seventeen now

And in less than a year

Ill be an adult like you...

Except, I've decided not to be like you.

I wonder that if you saw me now

You would be proud?

Because there are so many things about me

That you don't know.

I'm not sure if I even want you to though.

Dad,

The little girl in me still loves you,

Very, very much,

But I am not and cannot be a little girl anymore

And the act cant continue.

You cant pop in and out of my life

As you please.

Seventeen years and you've yet to decide

If I'm something important enough to hold on to

So I'll make the decision for you....

I've found someone to love me right since you wont.

Don't worry, Im in good hands...

Since I'll love myself for you.

Reviews

[Pete]

wow. quite a declaration of indepedence. very honest, heartfelt and touching. brings a tear to my eye.
bravo ... :)

[Tsubaki Kuro]

Beautiful poem here Riley Bray. I could feel the emotions from this poem. Great job.

[alanwgraham]

Superb. I would prefer one, like this heartfelt work about something real, to a hundred clever poems full of fancy words saying nothing!
Well done,
Alan
I 've a story about something I found out recently about my own dad - called 'Walking to zero'
You might like it!
Alan

[J.R.H.]

An amazing piece of poetry. It was well written easy to read and it touched my heart. It seems like he's missing out on someone very special. My fathers never around much. So I know it's hard feeling like there's always something or someone more important than you. But concentrating on yourself is the right way to go. Thanks for writing :)