Daughter's Father

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Daughter's father watches

as she cries over his tomb

husband takes her hand

and guides her away from the grave

as the tears pour down her face

She smiles and hugs her daughters

they smile back through the sorrow

and reach out to hold her hand

because she needs them more than they need her

in this moment they're her support

because she'd never admit to falling apart

but they can see it in her eyes

the way she pretends she's fine

they see right through the mask

Daughter's father watches 

as she weeps at his funeral

and wishes there was something he could do

to take away her pain

But all that's left is to love her

and tell her things'll be alright

one day when she's older

she won't miss him quite so much

So she closes her eyes for a minute

and takes his proffered hand

she squeezes it so tightly

but he lets her anyway

because he knows she needs this

though she'll never tell him that

Daughter's father watches

as the tries to hide the tears

pretend that she's not broken

and act like she's alright

she's taking this so lightly

that he figures she's going to be just fine

but what he doesn't see is

all those nights when he is sleeping

and her grief comes out to play

She's got to be strong for

all of the ones who can't 

everyone is weeping

life around her falls apart

as she stands alone in the middle

taking in the destruction

as the ashes float on by

Daughter's father watches

as they bury her guiding light

the others say they're sorry

she doesn't really care

she hears nothing but pain around her

as she watches family grieve

he left behind so many

didn't stay long enough for them

but she knows he's happy

his suffering is over, he knows they'll make it through some day

they each have each other

and they can take it day by day

Daughter's father watches 

as his daughter falls apart

the strong one speaks her anguish

and the other's silence tells

all he needs to know as

she smiles sadly back at him

He tells her it gets better

but she's not ready to hear those words just yet

she just needs someone to lean on

when they've all seemed to dissapear

her loved ones seem so far away

and she hates to burden them

so she smiles when she's asked

and hides behind the mask

Daughter's father watches

as she pulls out strong and graduates

he complains about the people

but he smiles on the same

as she takes a last deep breath

and struts across that stage

and once it's done and over

he thinks that she has made it

and that now her grief is done

what he doesn't know is

that it's only just begun

With Broken Wings (2013)Where stories live. Discover now