My father,
A man devoted to his work.
He worked to have the best for his little girl.
He was happy so long as she was smiling.

A man with a contagious joy.
He walked into a room and everyone smiled.
He never failed to make her happy.

A man with a giddy laugh.
He sounded like Popeye,
It was all anyone wanted to hear.

A man whose pain was unspoken.
They didn’t know how bad it was.
Why didn’t he tell them?

A man with a demon-filled mind.
He slept all day to end the headaches.
She wanted him to be okay.

A man whose physical pain became mental.
With noone that knew,
How could they have helped?

The man whose laugh once heard daily,
Is now but a mere echo.
She’d do anything to hear it again.

A man whose call for help was his final breath.
But who saw it coming?
His last words to her, “I love you.”

A family with one less member.
His pictures flooding their house.
His little girl is all grown up.

A little girl that will always remember him.
He was my best friend.
He is my hero.

A little girl who grew up without a dad,
A little girl who refuses to let anyone feel that pain
Because she too knew that feeling all too well.

A man I only had one name for, “Dad.”
A man who only called me “Princess.”
The one person I strive to be,
My father.