In honor of my Dad

When I was a child,
you carried me in your arms
and told the world I was yours forever.
When I grew older,
you sat me down and tried to explain life to me,
but left the sex talk to Mom.
When I met my first man at the tender age of fifteen,
I couldn't tell you
because I couldn't face your disappointment.
When the drugs and the alcohol and the cigarettes
invaded my life,
threatening to take me away,
you told me to use you as an example.
To see what they could do to a person.
When I finally beat my addiction to everything
but the cigarettes,
you were so proud of me.
You read my stories and my poems,
came to see me act in plays
and told members of the audience,
"See her? That's my little girl!"
You told me I could do anything
that I ever set my mind to.
You taught me to hate injustice and prejudice
and to love peace and others.
When I made the mistake of loving the wrong people
and gave too much of myself away,
you tried to understand
and told me that you'd always love me,
no matter what my faults were.
I may not see you every week like I see Mom
but you are only a phone call away.
And, like you, I may not approve of everything you do,
but I will always love you
and I'm trying to learn to love myself.
If I do succeed,
I know who to thank.
So I will raise a Mountain Dew to you
and give this toast.
"Here's to a father that loves me without any doubt.
here's to the one man I know will always care about me.
here's to a father from a daughter
who will turn to members of the audience in her life
and say, 'See him? That's my Dad! Ain't he quite a guy?'
Here's to you, Dad,
my best man.

Well, quite frankly, it's an awful, awful poem. But it's all true. He wasn't the best Dad in the world. But he was mine and he helped mold me into the person I am today. I don't remember when I wrote this, probably in my 20's. I still regret that I let one drunken incident keep me from talking to him for the last 3 years of his life. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.