Ten years old,

Wearing a medical mask In ICU.

Seeing your Father,

Your best friend,

Slipping away.

He suffers from

His liver corroding

From trying to combat

The alcohol he drinks.

But just because Booze were his lifeline,

That doesn't mean

He was terrible.

 

I was the one

Who was terrible.

I took him for granted,

And said whatever I wanted,

I didn't realize he wouldn't be

Forever.

I did realize my mistake

Soon enough,

When the doctors said

“There’s no need for a mask”.

 

My Father had asked me To sing to him,

A song from our favorite movie,

The Prince of Egypt.

He was not a religious man,

And this raised a lot of Red flags.

Regardless, I sang,

In an effort to ease

The pain

On both sides

That the cancer had inflicted.

When it was time to go,

I knew in my soul,

This was the last time I would

See him.

 

Of course, I was correct.

My mother arrived

Not even an hour later,

Explaining to me that my father

Had died.

With him,

My childhood crumbled.

With him,

I grew up faster than I should’ve.

I know this is all depressing,

But bare with me,

I know

My path was messy.

 

So here is my point:

The final lesson

My Father taught me,

Was that every life is precious.

Every person has someone

Who loves them,

Who is family,

Who will go to the ends

Of the Earth,

Just to tell them the time.

He taught me

To never take people for granted,

To love unconditionally,

And fully.

To forgive,

To stand tall,

To never be afraid of

Giving my heart to someone,

Because forever

Isn't very long.