Poem for my Dad

As we are getting ready to see our little girl for the first time, my thoughts often turn to those she must leave behind. While we are excited for her to come, I often think about the time she is getting to spend with the family we have had to say goodbye to in the last few months. It is almost time for her to say goodbye to them too, and it reminds me of the mixed emotions of saying goodbye to our parents, and yet knowing EXACTLY where they were going. It's sad and happy, all at the same time.

I wrote a poem for my dad shortly after he died - man, does it still ache to say that. I don't know if that ache ever completely goes away. Because I know my little girl has to do the same thing I did a few short months ago, I've been thinking a lot about that poem and the feeling I put into it. Here it is:

Dad’s Poem
-from your Laura – May 2010

In the quiet of my heart
A crater has begun to form;
A massive excavation,
That wasn’t there before.

A mind that was once bright,
Now finds itself more dim;
And his family and friends find themselves
Already missing him.

Life around me changes
But no more so than in my heart.
It’s hard to draw a line between
Where the pain ends and where it starts.

And yet amidst uncertain ache
A quiet peace persists
A peace that only One can bring
A presence that can’t be missed.

Always one to hear the call
Of family and friends in need
Now he hears another voice
One we know that he will heed.

For another need awaits his care
And this call comes from above;
It comes from a voice he knows he must follow;
A voice he’s come to love.

For this is a man who knows the voice
Of his Savior, Jesus Christ;
He’s followed the example of the Son
In his own daily sacrifice.

So, as God calls my father home,
Though my heart is crumbling,
I can hear his answer clear as day;
“I hear the call; I’m coming.”