True love comes in many forms
my first was my mom.

True love is carrying a baby in your belly
even if you weren’t “ready”.
True love is making sure
mama hugs came in steady.
Hugging me while I giggle.
Holding me down for a tickle.
Maybe solving a puzzle or two.

Yes mom,
I’m growing up now,
but my first true love was you.

16 and a half years later
sometimes I don’t know what to say to her.
Locked away in my room.
Involved with myself
the books on my shelf
Sometimes I don’t know what to do.

Yes mom,
I’m not always there
but my first true love was you.

People will freak out
buy all of the toilet paper
and assume the worst if your
temperature is a half a point high.

This time is special.

Still,
few noticed me when I was really dying.
Of a sickness that they do not see.
Corona is worse than the depression that consumed me.
I’m not the only one, I wouldn’t be the last
but like the worst have before, this sickness shall too “pass”.

Drunken by the beauty of your lips
and yet, they never knew the taste of alcohol.
Swaying and flowing instinctively
though I never knew how to dance.
My heart pounds with happiness and bliss
even though it never knew a kind hand.

You make the impossible become reality for me.
It’s true what you always said:
You’re magical.

I never realized how terrible it was
to pry a hook from a gasping fish’s mouth
because I always had Dad to do the tough parts.

I always had Dad to get his hands ***** so my line could be cast back out into the lake of life with me on the other end of the pole anxiously waiting for my next big catch.

That’s what dads are for.

I never knew what it was like to struggle
putting on a too sticky band-aid.
I always had Dad to get it stuck to his own fingers as he kissed my scrapes better.

I always had Dad to pick up the broken glass around me. He would always be there to pick me up and boost me along my way, always watching close to make sure I didn’t fall harder the next time.

That’s what dads are for.

I’ve always known what it was like to be loved unconditionally.
I’ve always known what it was like to be someone’s #1 girl.
I’ve always known the soft hugs of a protective papa bear.
I’ve always known the loving judgement and watchful eye of the man that loved me first.

That’s what dads are for.

It is like putting a flightless bird
in an iron cage.

ups and downs
the in betweens
don't give up on those dreams.
chase them like they're fireflies
and you're a child
a summer night.
ups and downs
the in betweens
ride life's roller coaster
enjoy the screams.