You are the man I wanted to be when I grew up.
The man who taught me to take care of others.
The one man I would follow to the ends of the earth.
I have always loved you more than any other,
And I haven’t seen your face in fifteen years.

You taught me to love unconditionally,
To live every day like it’s your last,
To never take what wasn’t given freely,
To help anyone in need,
And ask for nothing in return.

There are so many questions I never got to ask you,
So many stories I never got to hear from your lips.
Like how you got your purple heart and bronze star.
I found out years after you died,
When I found the military report,
And as I read of your selfless acts of bravery, I wept.

You laughed like a child,
Wept like a widow,
Had the eyes of an angel,
The hands of a carpenter,
And the heart of a saint.

You taught me that the caliber of a woman,
Can always be seen in her feet.
And the worth of a man,
Is always in his hands.

You were a farm boy.
Poor, uneducated, long hair and no shoes.
Your mother, with her fiery hair,
Couldn’t read a word but
She sure slept with a gun under her pillow.
You knew what it was like to live off the land,
And you inspired me to believe
That we can grow beyond what we’re born into.

But as I’ve grown up,
I’ve learned of your faults.
After all, even saints have their sins.
You were spineless against the wrath of your wife,
You let your daughters be abused
Because you simply didn’t want to fight.
And despite that I’ve always tried to follow in your footsteps,
Help those around me,
Be nice for the sake of being nice,
Never pass judgement,
And greet your enemies with open arms…
The last words I heard from your lips were these,
“Don’t be nice to people, it will only get you walked on.”

Now as I’ve grown up,
I’ve learned you weren’t perfect.
You were just a man.
Perhaps a great man, but a man nonetheless.
And I may not look on you with rose tinted eyes,
But knowing your faults just makes me love you more.
Because now I know that you were made just like me,
You stumbled,
You fell,
You made your mistakes,
You bruised your knees,
And cried yourself to sleep.
I know that I can live up to you,
I can make you proud,
Despite my mistakes.

So I didn’t shed one tear at your funeral,
Because I didn’t believe that you were gone.
And I may cry from time to time now,
But I still know you aren’t really gone.
Because you’re alive in my heart,
In my dreams and my hopes.
Because someday I’ll be a good man,
And that’s thanks to you.

You see, I’ve always wondered
Why I’ve made it through hard times
And harder times still.
Because, truthfully, I’m not quite that strong.
And I know I can’t get by on my own.
So, I think that someone up there,
Is looking out for me.
Holding my hand when I feel alone,
Picking me up when I can’t go on,
Giving me courage when I’m scared to death…
And I think, I wish, I hope and I dream
That maybe,
Just maybe,
That person is you.