Good fathers often don’t know
how to say ‘I love you’
so they resort to quietly picking you up
when you fall asleep on the sofa
and put you in your bed.
You wake up next day wondering
at the magical power night has.
And that is why he knows all your school work
and can recite names of all friends
you have had since you were a toddler.
That is why when he can’t take you on a vacation
he writes and reads stories for you
about charming foreign lands
he never hopes to visit because
he would rather be with you,
Here, where his heart rests.
The Broken Inkpot 