Her hair was up in a ponytail<br />Her favorite dress tied with a bow.<br />Today was Daddy's Day at school,<br />And she couldn't wait to go.<br /><br />But her mommy tried to tell her,<br />That she probably should stay home.<br />Why the kids might not understand,<br />If she went to school alone.<br /><br />But she was not afraid;<br />She knew just what to say.<br />What to tell her classmates<br />Of why he wasn't there today.<br /><br />But still her mother worried,<br />For her to face this day alone.<br />And that was why once again,<br />She tried to keep her daughter home.<br /><br />But the little girl went to school,<br />Eager to tell them all.<br />About a dad she never sees<br />A dad who never calls.<br /><br />There were daddies along the wall in back,<br />For everyone to meet.<br />Children squirming impatiently,<br />Anxious in there seats.<br /><br />One by one the teacher called,<br />A student from the class.<br />To introduce their daddy,<br />As seconds slowly passed.<br /><br />At last the teacher called her name,<br />Every child turned to stare.<br />Each of them was searching,<br />For a man who wasn't there.<br /><br />"Where's her daddy at?"<br />She heard a boy call out.<br />"She probably doesn't have one,"<br />Another dared to shout.<br /><br />And from somewhere near the back,<br />She heard a daddy say,<br />"Looks like another deadbeat dad,<br />Too busy to waste his day."<br /><br />The words did not offend her,<br />As she smiled up at her mom.<br />And looked back at her teacher,<br />Who told her to go on.<br /><br />And with hands behind her back,<br />Slowly she began to speak.<br />And out from the mouth of a child,<br />Came words incredibly unique.<br /><br />"My Daddy couldn't be here,<br />Because he lives so far away.<br />But I know he wishes he could be,<br />Since this is such a special day.<br /><br />And though you cannot meet him,<br />I wanted you to know.<br />All about my daddy,<br />And how much he loves me so.<br /><br />He loved to tell me stories<br />He taught me to ride my bike.<br />He surprised me with pink roses,<br />And taught me to fly a kite.<br /><br />We used to share fudge sundaes,<br />And ice cream in a cone.<br />And though you cannot see him,<br />I'm not standing here alone.<br /><br />Cause my daddy's always with me,<br />Even though we are apart.<br />I know because he told me,<br />He'll forever be in my heart."<br /><br />With that, her little hand reached up,<br />And lay across her chest.<br />Feeling her own heartbeat,<br />Beneath her favorite dress.<br /><br />And from somewhere in the crowd of dads,<br />Her mother stood in tears.<br />Proudly watching her daughter,<br />Who was wise beyond her years.<br /><br />For she stood up for the love<br />Of a man not in her life.<br />Doing what was best for her,<br />Doing what was right.<br /><br />And when she dropped her hand back down,<br />Staring straight into the crowd.<br />She finished with a voice so soft,<br />But its message clear and loud.<br /><br />"I love my daddy very much,<br />He's my shining star.<br />And if he could, he'd be here,<br />But heaven's just too far.<br /><br />You see he was a fireman<br />And died just this past year,<br />When airplanes hit the towers<br />And taught Americans to fear.<br /><br />But sometimes when I close my eyes,<br />It's like he never went away."<br />And then she closed her eyes,<br />And saw him there that day.<br /><br />And to her mother's amazement,<br />She witnessed with surprise.<br />A room full of daddies and children,<br />All starting to close their eyes.<br /><br />Who knows what they saw before them,<br />Who knows what they felt inside.<br />Perhaps for merely a second,<br />They saw him at her side.<br /><br />"I know you're with me Daddy,"<br />To the silence she called out.<br />And what happened next made believers,<br />Of those once filled with doubt.<br /><br />Not one in that room could explain it,<br />For each of their eyes had been closed.<br />But there on the desk beside her,<br />Was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.<br /><br />And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,<br />By the love of her shining bright star.<br />And given the gift of believing,<br />That heaven is never too far.<br /><br />They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. There were approximately 10,000 children that lost a parent on 9/11.<br /><br />I received this from my daughter and wanted to share it with the people on this forum.
