Poems for Fathers

Dad

Wish I could stay with him.

Now the fear is here.

Miss his old dirty boots

Coming home at night.

The warm

Kiss on my cheek

When I'm asleep.

Love the cozy hugs

When scared of losing him.

Love to say goodbye when

I know he's coming back.

The old dirty boots sitting in

Front of the door with wet mud

On the carpet.

The family picture with my dad's

Gotee and the light brown hair.

There are some that have

Dads who love and hold them

And there are some who don't,

It feels like there is no one

In this world that you can

Love so much.

Trying to look back in my

Mind to see what's good

About my dad and it's like

My mind doesn't want

Me to feel the pain.

My heart is beating

Boom

Boom

Boom

Then it stops when he is walking

Out on you to leave you in tears.

The days goes by and you don't

Want to move.

-Megan

Now I'm Done.

Out of school,

Rapidly walking to the dead fish smelling baby sitters.

I stare out the cracked window her son broke

That summer.

You came and got me with Gambler,

he licked my face, and I kissed his big black nose

I put on my ragged old shoes, and

You tied them tight.

Thinking about all those memories

I want to forget

Then you were gone, when

Mommy said she was done,

You were never in my life, I wished

I was never even born.

As I was growing up

I got used to you not being there.

Knowing you'd never come.

Since I grew up,

Mom told me everything,

The drugs, the alcohol addiction,

How many people you owed money to.

Crying my eyes out the minute I found out.

Shoving my face in that old pillowcase you got me.

My sister only a teenager,

Standing there with her friend

Having random strangers ride up,

Ask where you were.

Because if they found you

They said you're dead

The silence of the phone

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday night,

You stop calling so I stopped trying,

Now just like mom I'm done.

-Savannah

My Daddy's Old Caprice

'96 Caprice Classic

Indigo leather, golden brown wood,

Next to the silver handle

That looks like it has never been touched

That car was everything

my dad was

One of a kind and classic

Like his style and good looking

Smooth and slick like his voice

Every Sunday morning

We would pile into the Caprice

Go to church

I would always sit up front

In the middle where the handle rose

Because it would always be six of us

Three in the back: Jessie, Jasmin, and Mickey

And three up front: MIchael, Makaila, and Mama

On our way to church

Listening to Kirk Franklin

that's the Reason Why I sing

He would always change the radio

By moving his hand over the dashboard like a magician

And 'til this day I still don't know

What he did to change that station

Everyone grew up

And the memories went up to flames

That day my daddy traded in that '96 classic Caprice

For that big, black, dull Chevy

That looks like a monster on wheels.

For once in my life I felt uncompleted

Remembering his two favorite colognes mixed together

Armani and Curve, smelling like him

Missed his leather seats

Sticking and burning my legs in the hot summer time

Rubbing sound of the leather

How when the sun shine the paint job would sparkle

Like his eyes in the moon light

Now everytime I look in the mirror

I see my daddy and his Caprice.

-Makaila

Bright Night

Stacks of boxes.

Boxes that smell like gun powder.

Boxes that will soon explode

Night comes

And its July excitement

My dad's friends, him and the party

Everyone laughing as loud as

Thunder

In a dark pitch black storm

My dad starts with

Mortar shells

Lighting them with his rusty old Zippo

With a two inch flame

Sparking up the wick

Five seconds later

It sores through the sky

Then it explodes into a blue and white

Color of laughter

And it booms

Into a exciting

Ear bursting noise

It leaves my dad screaming,

"Awesome!"

And lighting fireworks till

He runs out of

Exploding Joy.

-Sean

Runaway

When I was a little girl,

You bounced me on your knee.

When I had a bad day

It was you who I was running to,

You told me it would be okay.

I believed you.

I remember I was seven years old,

The time you left.

All your clothes in the closet were gone,

I couldn't catch my breath.

I fell to my knees cried "Daddy, don't go!"

I loved you all my life.

You're my hero, don't you know?

If I were a better kid, would you come back?

Please come home.

When I was in middle school,

We tried to talk on the phone,

You said you were proud of me,

I shed my tears,

I just wanted you near,

But you were never there to wipe away my tears.

-Destiny