Dear Absent Father Poem by Mattie Mattie

I sometimes wonder to myself
As I lie awake,
When I last saw your face?
I question why you don't reach out.
If you couldn't, it would be different,
But that just isn't the case.

I've accomplished great things
Since we last met,
Since the days when I knew nothing.
A time when I believed what you said to be true,
I saw something good in you.
I no longer let your absence make me upset.

As I've gotten older,
I let the sad thoughts fly out of my mind,
And I put the past behind.
I've learned to accept the truth—
I don't need you.
Now I'm a teen
And the things I've accomplished,
You've never seen.

Blood doesn't define a parent,
But love does.
You had a responsibility that you didn't take.
It isn't something you just say sorry for
Or move on after an apology;
It isn't just a simple mistake.
Nothing could make up for the lost time.
It feels like you've committed a crime.

You won't be the one he meets,
The one to hand me my first pair of keys,
Or do the things a father should.
A father doesn't come and go when convenient;
He stays through the deepest of troubles.
I sometimes wish I could fix it, but I can't.
And I shouldn't have to—
It's something only you can do.

I have a father who is there for me.
Maybe someday a father is what you could be.
But as far as it concerns me,
I have someone who cares for me—
Someone who is always there for me.