Dear Father

Written By Santiana Jean-Baptiste (2017)

Dear Father,

Have you ever seen a bird smile?

Have you ever seen a butterfly cry?

I've been thinking of you

I tried calling you

There was no answer

So I decided to write

In space, through the airwaves, on the internet;

Hopefully this time you'll know where I'm at...

Somewhere

Over there

Everywhere

Like a Butterfly

I'm alive.

The last time I saw you, you had a severe stroke

We didn't say much, but your soul through the windows of your eyes spoke

As it cut through my soul,

I felt it

I saw you cry

My eyes stayed dry

The sorrow is still so hard to deny

As you laid on the hospital bed

I stood there gazing

A mirror of your reality reflected the state of my Christianity,

Depleted

I felt your paralysis.

Motionless

You saw my anguish.

So, I stood helpless

Barely able to hold my own

Like a quetzal, my feet were weak

From all life handed me

Without you, my future seemed so bleak.

Yet through the turmoil, I smiled.

I'm here to tell you TODAY

I understand the burden of a Father

I know why you couldn't be there

Your Father wasn't there for you too.

You had no teacher

But Jesus knew

His baptism would cover us

Tried and True.

As I overcame the anguish,

As you recovered from your paralysis,

We both needed to rely on the Heavenly Father

To forgive our trespasses.

What was a loyal obligation,

Became a revelation

A Father's love is to forever be cherished

He secures

He sustains

He provides

And when others condemn His children,

He protects

He will even fight.

His love is not only to be seen, it is to be experienced;

All He creates is Divine.

The universe reveals His abundant masterpiece,

He carefully pondered each detail

And ensured it would be interpreted with human eyes.

Blessed is the daughter who pays attention;

Anointed is the Father who knows where her heart confides.

What more can a daughter ask for than a Father's love?

Whether biological or spiritual

To adorn the gift is to understand the gifter;

To follow the dream is to know the dreamer.

Father, Daughter

What is now our relationship?

It’s in the serenity of a bird's smile

It's in the mystery of a Butterfly who seldom cries.

To all who were meant to be Fathers but were not Fathered

To all the fatherless sons and daughters

Let our voices forever praise

Our Father, which art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name!