You were everything I needed
And nothing at once
A continuous reminder
Of an absent life for your sons

Every time I hug my daughter
Is when I needed one from you
Every white lie to keep her sparkle
Is to counteract my childhood of truths

The stars in the sky,
Tombstones of my childhood dreams
Pulling from emptiness,
Faint light that still gleams

Floating amidst a sea of confusion
With no one at the helm
An unguided vessel,
Somehow navigated out of hell

I’d rather live one day as a lion
Than a hundred as a sheep
Surviving my keelhauling through life
Thriving off a pain set so deep

He was the echo of a thunderstorm
The shadow that stretched but took no form
A name whispered in the quiet night
A fleeting flicker, a stolen light

He was everything and nothing at all
A towering ghost, a silent call.
The seat left empty, the door ajar
A distant memory shaped by scars

But what he withheld, I freely give
A love that breathes, a life to live
The hugs he forgot, I hold too tight
The words he silenced, I speak each night

He taught me absence, and in return,
I’ve built a fire where his did not burn
The stories untold, I now create
The gaps he left, I’ll never replicate

For every tear that fell unseen
I give her laughter, calm and keen.
The void he carved, I’ve turned to space
Where love can flourish and find its place

So here’s to my daughter, my endless proof
That love can thrive under any roof
For everything and nothing he’ll be
I give her all he never gave to me