Thank you for the silence and storms
For teaching me love through all its warped forms
For every cold shoulder, for each raised voice
You gave me no comfort, but you gave me a choice

I learned how it feels to be small and unseen
To tiptoe through tempers, to swallow a scream
But in all the chaos, one truth grew bright
What not to become and what must be made right

You showed me the damage that careless words do
The weight of a promise that never comes true
But from broken pieces, I’ve built something whole
A vow to protect a much softer soul

My daughter won’t flinch when footsteps draw near
Her heart won’t be sculpted by shame or by fear
She’ll know that love listens, that presence is loud
That strength isn’t anger, and kindness is proud

So thank you for pain, for the scars, and the ache
They taught me the future that I refuse to remake
And though you won’t see it, or maybe you will
I broke the cycle with unshaking will

You taught me, by failing, what fathers must be
In her loving eyes, I’m healing the child in me