With ribbons twisting in her curly blonde hair and
a sparkle in her eye she watches her dad stumble
into her room so he can kiss her good night.

"Daddy, walk a little straighter, Daddy,
you have to be alright. Mommy says the sunrise is wonderful,
but first you have to make it through the night."
she whispers, her arms reaching out.

She hears little voices outside, in the hall,
as Sleep gently pulls her away and
the surroundings begin to fade.
Every day things are fine,
it's when the stars are out that the
quarrels begin and mommy's heart
breaks just a little more.

Safely dreams come to the rescue
taking her to new lands
of ice cream and candy, with castles
made of flowers and she's the princess
with unicorn friends and shadows that
don't come out to scare her
as children tend to find as they play.

In the morning, daddy comes in
with a smile plastered on his face
and an air force suit draped over his arm,
"Sweetie, I'm going away for a while,
I hope that's okay. Just remember,
I'm always here in your heart."

As she begins to cry as all little girls would,
he notices the sun coming in from the window
it looks like a hallow above her sweet face.
He remarks how painfully beautiful such a sight is,
and as he hugs her one last time

the words escape her mother's cinnamon lips,
"Do you feel better now?" before walking him out
and locking the door.