Her Daddy
Her hair up in
a pony tail ,
her favorite
dress tied with a bow
Today was
Daddy’s Day at school ,
and she
couldn’t wait to go
But her mommy
tried to tell her ,
that she
probably should stay home
Why the kids
might not understand ,
if she went to
school alone
But she was
not afraid ,
she knew just
what to say
What to tell
her classmates ,
on this
Daddy’s Day
But still her
mother worried ,
for to face
this day alone
And that was
why once again ,
she tried to
keep her daughter home
But the little
girl went to school ,
eager to tell
them all
About a dad
she never sees ,
a dad who
never calls
There were
daddies along the wall in back ,
for everyone
to meet
Children
squirming impatiently ,
anxious in
their seats
One by one the
teacher called ,
a student from
the class
To introduce
their daddy ,
as seconds
slowly passed
At last the
teacher called her name ,
every child
turned to stare
Each of them
were searching ,
for a man who
wasn’t there
“Where her
daddy at ?”
she heard a
boy call out ,”
“She probably
doesn’t have one ,”
another
student dared to shout
And from
somewhere near the back ,
she heard a
daddy say
“Looks like
another deadbeat dad ,
too busy to
waste his day .”
The words did
not offend her ,
As she smiled
at her friends
And looked
back at her teacher ,
Who told her
to begin
And with hands
behind her back ,
Slowly she
began to speak
And out from
the mouth of a child ,
Came words
incredibly unique
My Daddy
couldn’t be here ,
because he lives so for away
But I know he
wishes he could
be with me on
this day
And though you
cannot meet him ,
I wanted you
to know
All about my
daddy ,
and how much
he loves me so
He loved to
tell me stories ,
he taught me
to ride my bike
He surprised
me with pink roses ,
and taught me
to fly a kite
We used to
share fudge sundaes ,
and ice cream
in a cone
And though you
cannot see him ,
I not standing
all alone
Cause my
daddy’s always with me ,
even though we
are apart
I know because
he told me ,
he’ll forever
be here in my heart “
With that her
little hand reached up
and lay across
her chest
Feeling her
heartbeat ,
beneath her
favorite dress
And from
somewhere in the crowd of dads,
her mother
stood in tears
Proudly
watching her daughter
who was wise
beyond her years
For she stood
up for the love
of a man not
in her life
Doing what was
best for her,
doing what was right
And when she
dropped her hand back down ,
staring
straight into the crowd
She finished
with a voice so soft ,
but its
message clear and loud
“I love my
daddy very much ,
He’s my
shining star ,
And if he
could he’d be here ,
But heaven’
just too far,s,
But sometimes
when I close my eyes ,
it’s like he
never went away .”
And then she
closed her eyes ,
and saw him
there that day
And to her
mother’s amazement ,
she witnessed
with surprise
A room full of
daddies and children
all starting
to close their eyes
Who knows what
they saw before them ,
who knows what
they felt inside
Perhaps for
merely a second
they saw him
at her side .
“I know you’re
with me Daddy ,”
to the silence
she called out
And what
happened next made believers
of those once
filled with doubt
Not one in
that room could explain it ,
for each of
their eyes had been closed
But there
placed on her desktop ,
was a
beautiful fragrant pink rose
And a child
was blessed ,if only a moment ,by the
love of her
shining bright star
And given the
gift of believing ,
that heaven is
never too far
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
