My mom left my father
When I was only eight.
I spent many nights
Crying.
I missed him so much.
Mom said, “Dry your tears.
He doesn’t care about you.”
Somehow I believed her, but
Nineteen years later
I placed a call to him.
He didn’t hang up on me.
And he said he did care.
Told me he never knew
Where I was at.
Said he always wondered
If I was okay.
All those years
I was out of his life.
All that sadness.
The card I got that Christmas
Signed, “Love, Your Dad”
Will always be treasured.
He passed away
Shortly after I was getting to know him
Through phone calls and letters.
Never got to see him again.
All those years wasted.
All those times a little girl
Cried alone
Because she thought
Her father didn’t love her.
Parents be careful what you say
To children.

Connie Webb

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/parents-be-careful-what-you-say-to-children/