He’s a man whose life has known much sorrow,
A man who’s made mistakes, but paid his dues,
Impetuously gambling his tomorrows,
Too blind to see how much he had to lose.
Blinded by his liquor, games and women,
Sinking to oblivion each night –
Escaping from himself each waking moment,
Slowly giving up without a fight.
He lost his home, his wife, his friends, his family,
He lost his faith, his plans and dreams were gone –
He lost all self respect and pride within him,
And yet somehow he managed to go on.
He slept alone and felt unloved, unwanted,
He woke alone, to face his world of fears.
He cried alone, regretting all his failures –
He sighed alone, remembering all those years.
No longer did his liquor drown his sorrows,
No more could other women fill his needs.
He’d lost too much to gamble his tomorrows,
The grass that seemed so green, had turned to weeds……
Just when he’d begun to lose the battle,
To let himself be conquered by despair,
A woman – understood his desperation –
A woman – gave him strength enough to care.
She gave to him her love and understanding,
She shared his pain, and gave him back his life.
She stood by him no matter how demanding.
Until one day, he took her as his wife.
The years have passed and helped to ease his losses,
The memories of sadness, somewhat gray,
No longer does the ‘other’ grass seem greener,
No longer can it lead his heart astray…..
I find it very hard to tell his story,
For so much of his pain has been my own.
Through all these years I’ve had to watch him suffer,
This man – the only Dad, I’ve ever known.