• Dear father, for I have not the heart to call you “dad”
    How could you have cut me so deeply?
    When once I used to adore you so sweetly

    Dear father, you wonder why I ignore you
    You query what could you ever have done
    For me to leave and you to be shunned

    Dear father, where has your kind heart gone
    Now all I ever see in your face is anger, black
    What was it that made you turn your back?

    Dear father, do you realize how many people you’ve hurt?
    The deep love and relationships you helped destroy
    The huge wounds inside, the emotions left void

    Dear father, you ask why I’m exposing this
    So let me explain it once and for all
    You see those tears that singe my face when they fall?
    They run for you, for the hearts you’ve raided
    For the reasons my feelings for you have abated
    For the times I’ve opened my mouth to explain
    For the times you don’t listen and I fall silent again
    For the way you think you’re always right
    For the way you should lie sleepless at night
    For the life you cost before he was ready
    For your mind and how it’s truly not steady
    For the contented life you could have had
    And for the reason I call you “my father” and not “my dad.”