March The Eighth

Thank You, Father

FATHERS hold you when you have bad dreams
And they comfort you when all is lost it seems.
Fathers teach you to dribble a basketball and shoot a free throw
And they lead you as you grow.
Fathers teach you how to drive a car
And they try to teach you how to putt for par.
Fathers wipe the tears of your broken heart
And they hold your hand when you don't know how to start.
Fathers quiz the boys who take you on a date
And they scold those boys who bring you home late.
Fathers carry you on their shoulders when you're too small to see
And they watch as you giggle when they bounce you on their knee.
Fathers extend their feet to you when they teach you how to dance
And they always give you a second chance.
Fathers wait in the wings while you start your own life
And they pray for a husband to make you a wife.
Fathers walk you down the aisle on your wedding day
But fathers never really give their little girls away.

- by Mahfooz Ali
p.s. It would have been my father's 94th birthday today.