911 Poem by Victoria Ritchie

Her hair was tied up in a pony tail,
Her favourite dress tied with a bow,
Today was daddies day at school,
And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mummy tried to tell her,
That she should probably stay at home,
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid,
She knew just what to say,
What to tell her classmates,
Why he wasn't there today.

But still her mummy worried,
For her to face the day alone,
That was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school,
Eager to tell them all,
About a dad she never sees,
And a dad who never calls.

There were daddies standing along the wall at the back,
For everyone to meet,
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seats.

One by one the teacher called,
A student from the class,
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
And every child turned to stare,
Each of them were searching,
For a man who wasn' there.

'Where's her daddy at? '
She heard a boy call out,
'She probably doesn' have one'
Antoher student dared to shout.

And somewhere from the back,
She heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day! '

But the words did not offend her,
She smiled up at her mum,
And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on.

And with her hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak,
And out of the mouth of a child,
Came the words incredibly unique.

'My daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away
But i know he wishes he could be,
As this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you all to know,
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories,
And tught me how to ride a bike,
He surrpised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice-cream on a cone,
And though you cannot see him,
I'm not standing here alone.

Becuase my daddy's always with me,
Even though we are apart,
I know becuase he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart.

With that her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest,
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favourite dress.

And from somewhere in the crowds of dads,
Her mother stood in tears,
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for love,
Of a man not in her life,
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
Straing straight into the crowd,
She finsihed with a voice so soft,
But her message clear and loud.

'I lilove my daddy very much,
He's my shinning star,
And if he could he'd be here,
But heavens just too far.

You see he was a fireman,
And died just this past year,
When areoplanes hit the towers,
And taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when i close my eyes,
Its like he never went away
And then she closed her eyes,
And she saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
She whitnessed with surprise,
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knew what they saw before them,
Who knew what they felt inside,
Perhaps for merely a second,
they saw him by her side.

'I know your with me daddy'
To the silence she called out,
And what happened next made belivers,
Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed,
But there on the desk beside her,
Was a frangant long stemmed pink rose.

And each child was blessed if only for a moment,
By the love of her shinning star,
And given the gift of beliveing,
that heavens not that far.