I'll Leave It To Him

A dad and a father

Can be two different people.

Although used interchangeably,

The terms are far on the spectrum

Of how close one is to reality.

The father or the mess-maker, runs.

But before he leaves,

He creates a Gordian knot.

“I’ll leave it to somebody else,”

He says.

The dad plays multiple roles.

The caretaker, the picker-upper,

The counselor, all in one.

Breaking the knot, cleaning up the wreck,

He tries to prevent new ones.

To be a father, is to hit and run.

He runs the bases--

Trying to get home.

Little does he know,

He is running from home.

The dad protects,

He builds the home that

The family needs. He sacrifices,

Giving his time, in essence

Giving the rest of his life.

The father’s awakening to reality

Is a cold truth among the secrets.

He attempts to become a dad.

Noticing what is lost,

He realizes, it’s often too late.

Some are blessed--

Their father is their dad.

Just as fortunate, I have both,

A dad and a father,

In two different men.