Dear Dad,

            When the house is filled with nothing but the sounds of my breathing,

            I miss the unsettling noise that your oxygen tank made.

            The selfish side of me is tired of all the grieving,

            But I cannot bear to have the memory of you fade.

            Your laugh, your smile, your hugs, have all disappeared,

            Yet your worn out slippers still have their place at the bottom of the stairs.

            The table still has four placemats when one should have been cleared,

            And every night I wish you to come back in my prayers.

            It is terrible for me to want you back in the condition that you were in,

            But you are my father, and I need you in my life.

            My prom, my graduation, my wedding are places you could have been,

            If only cancer didn’t overtake your body with its knife.

            Every day I cry my heart out for you,

            And I can do nothing but hope that you miss me, too.