Daughter of an Absent Father

A Poem

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Darling girl,
I want you to listen to me,
I need you to hold my hand
as I speak.

Do not look to him
for proof of your
e x i s t e n c e.
Step away, now,
view yourself from a
d i s t a n c e.

F a t h e r is not a title
he is worthy of wearing.
Let this be his burden.
You can be the
d a u g h t e r
he never wanted, or,
the woman who
knows her worth.

Be the wild in that flower
spurting growth through
the cracks in the d i r t.
Let it h u r t, but know
that it is never permanent.

You’re the very being
of a human who doesn’t
measure worth from birth.
Cradle the giving heart
you were blessed with,
the one that longs
to part with no one.
The rising storm of
c o m p l e x underneath
the gnawing teeth of
f o r g i v e n e s s.