Heart Break Through A Child's Eyes
Dear dad,
Your presence was barely around
Making your voice an unfamiliar sound
I wouldn’t be able to tell you apart from a crowd
My eyes sore from looking,
But I’d still admit I had a father out loud
I’d be a wreck every single June
Apprising the class that I’d see you very soon
A lie that kept crawling like a spider
On the surface of a web
My friends begging, “What’s going on with her?”
Each picture you’re in that exists in our home
Just stays unlike you who had to roam
I think about you and my eyes grow glassy
Shinier than all the trophies you never saw me win
Reminding me that the way you left us was anything but classy
And to make things worse no one removed your boots
The yellow ones that revealed your hard-working attributes
They lined up perfectly against the egg shell white wall
Better than that old carpet ever did
A speck of grease permanently splattered, the size rather small
Yet it evokes a colossal image of that day
The day mother refuses to talk about because she’d rather not say
But I can’t keep my hurt it in long no more
It’s like fitting an ocean into a bath tub
And I have to apologize because the water glides on tiles and not a shore
I hate that you’re gone and I have to pretend it’s not killing me
Because “some people may not understand and they won’t agree—
They won’t see a broken home nor a family destroyed
They’ll say it’s not the country’s problem
For many years he was thought of something to avoid.”
We’re taught love is love and not to discriminate between who with
However, my heart was trampled and I was left to wonder if love is a myth
Because how could it be true if they took away the man who gave me life
And for no damn practical reason
Wishing I drew a breath no more so we’d be a family together in the afterlife
Please, don’t tell mother I mentioned that horrific day
Where the gentlemen with badges pulled you over—Your tears on display
Explaining that all you wanted when you arrived here was to pave the way
For your children who understand why you’re gone
Through these tiny eyes I will proclaim, “Familia es importante.”