We had to let him go

Daddy don't leave me


Harsh cold winter nights
Crisp to say the least
Shadows to cold to answer us
Stay hidden below our feet

Long across the moonlit sky
In the distance I see the light
Of a loved ones house alive with warmth
A friendly sight inside

Hot chocolate with clouds of white
The smell fills the air
Sugar cookies and apple pie
a soft old worn out chair

I sit in front of the old wood stove
And close my eyes real tight
And feel the heat across my face
It brings me to that night

Of whistling memories that fade in and out
Of us all so close
We had no clue what was our fate
For if we did we would have held on tight
And never let him go

He worked so hard to make our way
For a future we would embrace
But little did we know that on this day
Would be the last time we would see his face

Empty lifeless and so afraid
Each of us exhaled
Not knowing what the days would bring
Shocked and lost and pale

I stood outside my grandma's house
And gazed up on that hill
My dad had left us all alone
God called him to fulfill

Forty years have come and gone
And not a moments past
For when I close my eyes real tight
I can still see my dad

He whispered warmly in my ear
When I needed to change my way
He brought me to my intended place
To remain for many days

In each of us there rests a peace
A home a restful place
An unchanged voice that speaks so clear
And a face that never fades

My dad, my father, my hero, my friend
Has never left me one day
He lives inside our hearts
Forever he will stay.

Victoria Maurice 2011