You Will Never Know

You can trace the tearstains on her cheeks,
from where she's been crying.

Over some jerk with a "MOM" tattoo and a mustang;
left her in the backseat for another girl.

I hold her in my arms and tell her: "It,ll be okay,"
I whisper, "daddy will always be here."

And I told her: "Being sixteen ain't always easy,
and making bad choices is part of the deal."

"But you'll never know how much it means,
for me to be your father."

She came home one day with her grades and cried.
At the end of a line of A's slouched a solemn C.

"How am I getting into an Ivy League School now?"
she wept into my neck, her tears warm against my skin.

"A school's a school, no matter what the name is,
and you're my daughter no matter what your physics grade is."

She let out a small chuckle and hugged me tightly.
Flashbacks of a younger her came back to me:

Her first word, her first steps, her first time riding a bike...
My eyes filled with tears and I hugged her back.

"And you'll never know how much it means,
for me to be your father."


~49~

~Honestly, I can't wait to have kids.