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Nigdaw 2h
dad
a glimmer to a glow
then only embers
to remind us
of a fire that once
raged

a thousand extras
for a cast of one
and I among them

world shrunk to four walls
an armchair and tv set
have you seen mum
seven years gone
waiting
Watching my dad slowly fade away, so sad to see a life lived to the full, ending.
When I was small,  
your hand held mine,  
in a father’s grip,  
both firm and kind.  
I’d look up in awe
at your towering frame,  
your proud stance unwavering.
I'd like to think that I was a good girl
who obeyed the rules,
because your voice was profound,  
grounding my feet
onto the solid ground.

Through my childhood,  
long HGV trips were the norm,  
and I listened for the latch  
on the garden gate,
as I waited patiently  
for your return.  
I remember how you were
so regimented and set in your ways,  
but your love shone through  
in those distant days.  
I felt relief as years passed,
your strict edges softened,  
into acceptance at last.

Now time’s cogs have turned,  
our roles have reversed,
and life writes for us  
in a different verse.  
Once you strode  
with a confident pace,  
but a Zimmer frame  
now takes that place.  
Your hands, once strong,  
are fragile and sore,  
stiffened by time,  
yet still they endure.

I see the warrior’s spirit  
that still burns inside you,  
as cancer battles loom,  
you strive to push through.  
Where once you led  
with a mighty stride,  
it is now my turn  
to care and guide.  
My strength is yours  
as we walk a little slower these days
with me still by your side.

©️Lizzie Bevis
My Dad has been in hospital over the past few weeks following a series of falls.
Sadly, this lead to a diagnosis of advanced cancer throughout my dads body.
My Dad was always a proud and stubborn man,
thankfully he has mellowed a little in his twilight years.
I am glad that I am able to help him to feel comfortable and cared for.

I know what is to come...and it will be tough.
If you hadn't held down a job, we would've been *******.
If you hadn't worked, we would've had no shelter or food.
You worked hard for years to keep a roof over our heads.
You became ill in 2011 and twenty months later, you were dead.
About three years after you retired, you died at the age of sixty-five.
Even though you had months of chemotherapy, you did not survive.
When I learned that you had Leukemia, I started to pray.
If you were still alive, I'd wish you a happy Father's Day.
Dedicated to Charles F. Johnson (1947-2013) who died on July 13, 2013
alex 6d
I don’t get to see you
too often,
but I don’t blame you
for what you did.

You couldn’t stay,
and that’s okay.
You always try
and sometimes lie,
but I won’t hold a grudge-
who am I to judge?

You tell us
you still love us,
and I know that.
So we can chat,
and i’ll sit with you a while
then you’ll feign a smile

But I see how it hurts you
your start anew,
your empty home.
I see your eyes like chrome.
You never stay too long
and your voice doesn’t sound as strong…

It’s hard to pretend,
and even harder to try to mend…
But anyways,
I’ll stop this haze-
I just wanted to say:
Happy Father’s day
We might not always get along
Never agree on who's right or wrong
Are you proud of person I've become?
Or disappointed how short of a distance I've come?
Born to be loved
Can tell by my name
After all these years hope you view me the same
To see frown knowing I'm the reason why
Makes me want to remove the coldness from your eye
Die a little inside every time you call to yell
Pressure applied to my surface will not help me excel
And I realize you only want what is best for me
Can't fill shoes of the person you expect me to be
We snap back and forth sharing words sparked by spite
Too stubborn to surrender the fight
All I desire is faith put into my hands
By the one human who above all else I would think understands
Tomorrow never promised
Only have today
Which is reason I'm making this card to say
I'm grateful to the father who has always been there
Regardless of differences I'll forever care
Life is difficult now but troubles will eventually pass by
Nothing will change closeness between you and I
Wrote this for my dad's birthday card
I know so nice and cheerful hahaha.... Not!
But what can I say I put honestly above everything else when it comes to my writing regardless of the occasion
Hello Daisies Jun 10
Happy fathers day
I swish and i sway
I'm in an ocean
I start to decay

Drowning in emotion
You taught me to be brave
Always a commotion
You wouldn't have it any other way

I had to be brave
From the things you would say
You left us in the ocean
Floating in decay

You're tortured with demons
And left us at bay
Screaming and crying
You yelled at us to behave
As we all simply float away
While you hide in your cave

Happy fathers day
I'm not sure what to say
Maybe I love you
It's true I do
But maybe
I also want to say
I hate you
For everything you put us through
kinda feeling conflicted
Sono Blue Jun 9
I made something-look
but it's no good

You gave the critic first
before I got to them...
Was it a shield,
or would I reach the dreamers field

I heard your message
and it struck

sticks to me  
like sandpapered honey

The bitter truth

Or a perspective
from you
Everly Rush Jun 5
Let’s not sugarcoat it.
You didn’t protect me.
You didn’t question it.
You didn’t even blink
when she took my life
and signed it over to stone walls and locked doors.

I’ve been made permanent, Dad.
Not “just until things settle.”
Not “a term, maybe two.”
Permanent.
She made the decision.
She made the call.
And you?
You just stood there like a ******* statue,
held together with whatever spine she let you borrow.

And guess what?
You still don’t know.
Because she has been feeding you her version of reality
while threatening me into silence.

“You’ll make things worse.”
“He doesn’t need the stress.”
“You’re lucky we even—“

Shut the **** up.

I’m done being lucky to exist.
Done being silent so your wife can sleep better knowing that I’m far away,
tucked neatly into a place she doesn’t have to see.

She calls it “what’s best.”
I call it what it is:
exile
with a pretty brochure.

She erased me, Dad.
And you handed her the whiteout.  

You think you’re keeping the peace?
There’s no peace here.
There’s just you
living a lie so loud it drowns out
the sound of your daughter breaking.  

Do you know what it feels like
to be warned not to tell the truth
because you might not believe me?

Do you know how disgusting that is?
That I don’t even trust my own father
to choose me
over the woman who’s been gutting me
with fake smiles and cold silences since
I was eleven?

Let’s not pretend anymore:
You let her win.
You let her rewrite what “family” means
until I didn’t fit in the ******* sentence.

So here’s your truth:
I’m not okay.
I’m not “thriving.”
I’m surviving on scraps,
packing trauma into a dorm drawer,
waiting for someone to notice I never come home.

And since no one will say it—
Happy Birthday, Dad.
Hope the cake tastes sweet
while your real kid sits miles away
eating silence.

Hope the presents are stacked high
while I unwrap another year of being invisible.
Hope her kids call you Daddy
loud enough to drown out
what you gave up.

But when the party’s over,
and the house is clean,
and she’s sipping wine on the couch
like none of this ever happened—
I hope it hits you.
I hope my absence rots in your stomach.

Because I’m still here.
Still screaming between the lines.
Still writing you into every ******* word
because I don’t know how to make you
look at me.

So yeah.
Happy Birthday.

You got your quiet life.
And I got forgotten.
19:32pm / I bet they’re eating a chocolate cake right now
DAD
What in the world could he be doing?
Circling back and forth like a vulture.
No point in asking. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think me dead meat, and dead meat doesn’t talk back.
alex May 25
Does it though?
because friends
have never
belittled or
cut me down
quite like you have.

Nobody has ever made me
want to jump off the edge
from pain and hurt,
yet still scream words of gratitude,
because I know
how much
you sacrificed
for me.

You may not have been perfect,
but it’s everybody’s first time
at life
and I know
even if everybody
leaves my side
you’ll still be there
because blood
runs thicker
than water.
They know how to push you down—and how to pull you back up stronger
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