This poem is to my father. He had a stroke 4 years ago and now I am dealing with it. No one understands why it affects me the way it does, because he is still alive. But in my eyes that isn't my dad and it's so hard to see him that way. It's awful to see exactly what I want, but it's really not him.

This poem originally was published in Poems on Life - Family Poems

To My Dad
I'm opening my presents in front of the tree,
Dad, and I look over to your chair
I look at the emptiness, Dad, the space,
and become sad because you're not there

Summer comes along with my birthday,
Dad, and you aren't there with a big grin
My competitions come and go, Dad,
you aren't there to see me win

I go into your room one day,
Dad, and look at your empty drawers.
I go and visit you one day, Dad,
and I see you, but the soul isn't yours

I feel you, and see you,
and touch you and smell you.
But you can't think, or drive, or work
or be my dad like you always used to.

Why did this happen, Dad?
I know that no answer will fit right.
I wish you could still be here Dad,
I wish you didn't lose the fight.

Why is God making you suffer,
Dad, I'd really like to know.
I get to see your body and it tears me up inside,
I visit you and then I have to go.

I see your body, but yet it's not you,
and that's the hardest of them all.
No one understands, they think you are still alive,
they don't get why I always bawl.

Its like you die over and over,
Dad, it is like a tease,
A constant reminder of something I can't have,
I am begging you please!

Don't treat me this way,
God, I want my Dad back
Dad, if you're listening from wherever you are,
my life is perfect, but you I lack.

You are still here, so I don't know
whether you are watching from Heaven above
Maybe your soul is there,
but either way, I send you my love.
120 Visitor Comments (from the Voting form)
  • iury
    This poem is really deep it took tears from my eyes my dad is very ill in the hospital and i dont have a great relationship with him but this poem helpd me open my eyes and notice that life is short so love someone and treat them the best way you can because before you know it they are gone and you are washed up into tears and regreting the way you have ben treating that person tomorro iam going to the hospital and and tell my dad that i love him i think thats the real medicine that he needs to get him out of there Thankyou
  • ani
    This is a poem of pain. Losing a father is as I did is like losing something very important part of your body. Something almost in everybody's mind, heart, life goes dead losing a dad. The scar never ever heals. secret tears never dry. pl keep hope. Give him almuch love as you can.
  • Anila
    This poem really touched me & i know what u feel cause my dad passed away due to brain stroke 1 year ago & i really want him back but i cant. my sympathy is with u. May GOd bless his soul.
  • Jennifer
    I cried after maybe the 2 stanza. I can't face this sad fact. I still have my Daddy, but I always wonder what would happen to me if he suddenly died in the army. I always cry at Remembrance Day and stories/poems like this. Thank you sp much for letting me cry (I haven't done that in a LONG time)
  • teresa
    this poem was sad. that hasn't happened to me, but it makes me appreciate my dad
  • Tiara
    this poem has been so touching and my dad has been like that and now he is at his house suffering from not been a good father that he should hane and that i am mad at but he still cared for me and he is still alive and well besides his heart broken by me not wanting to visit him when he is dead.
  • Lea
    I just want to tell you your poem is very inspirational. I have had my father in a nursing home for the last three years on life support and I can tell you this poem hits home.
  • iwa
    i love this poem! its so touching
  • Karen
    I just lost my Dad Alfredo L Sierra Dec. 31,2006 he died of a mas stroke I saw him fight as hard as he could, at first I really thought hed make it throu but he fought all he could, he might of lived longer but he told us he never wanted to life of machines. I love and miss you Daddy. This poem reminded me of how I would have felt if my Dad would of lived
  • christine
    i love this poem because it reminded me of my mom, everything that was put in this poem was the same way i felt when my mom took her stroke 6 yrs before she passed away,
  • Michelle
    This was a great poem it did make me cry as i was reading it. I didnt lose my dad but its like i did since he had a drinking problem and never came around, he is now in jail and i told him i didnt love him anymore for not being there for me and after reading this poem i felt bad and wrote him back with something better cause i dont want to lose him i do love him and i know i cant hold a grudge against him. You did an awesome job with this poem keep it up!
  • nancy
    if words could make it all right this would
  • CARRIE
    really touched my heart i even shredded a tear for u i dont no how u coped id be nothing with out my dad
  • cassie
    well i really really like that peom and i like it because i feel like that is just like me life and i can see that they is people out there that have to go though the same thing that i have to and thank you for saying in your peom that and peolpe think that i just want something to cry about and it is just that you need that dad feeling in your life and some people don't have that and yea !1
  • Melanie
    This poem really touched me. My father is fighting a battle with cancer and similar thoughts have been raging through my mind as well.
  • katey
    I loved it! But it made me really sad like to the point i was nearly crying,because my mom and my dad are devorced, so it didn't really have anything to do with me, but it did you know? I thank you personally for making such a wonderful poem. It was great!
  • maheen
    this poem is very nice and touching
  • karina
    It's a very touching poem. It brought back memories of the pain that never goes away after losing a dad. I've had my share of pain and asking constantly why? I love this poem!
  • lisa
    This is one of the best dad poems Ive seen.
  • Ashley
    This was a very emotional and truthful poem, I could tell you put alot of meaning into it. My father almost died on 6-9-06 and was on life support for 3 days and then god preformed a great miracle and now my father so far has made a 100% recover and is doing GREAT!. This poem helps people like me that has been so close to losing a parent and it opens our eyes, Don't take anything you have for granted. This is an AWESOME! poem.
  • nelsha
    this was one of the best poems i had ever heard. to me it was like some one felling my pain . after many years of rejection ,someone heard my cry. the poem was writing to give me hope that there is some one who also knows about pain.
  • laura
    i vote this poem because i can understand it. i dont no how it would feel but i cant even imagine it but i can see what you're saying and what the poems means
  • Mel
    although I cant't relate to your poem its still a great one kepp up the good work
  • Mary
    This poem is like really sad but i miss my family ((CRYING)) Mary **101**
  • jeraldine
    that poems was really good i know how u fell bacause my dad isn't here with me and i do want him back so keep up the good work.
  • shannon
    i cried when i saw this i know how u feel i dont have a dad no more.
  • Shani
    this poem is awesome my da dhad a stroke a few days ago and he will not make it and this poem has inspired me.
  • Kari
    hey this is a really good poem good job
  • tabatha
    hey i no ow you fl my dad is gone to i mean he aint dead but my mom is devorced so i do not get to see him yes i really miss em but im keeping my head up so you do the same i love your poem
  • Rhonda
    My deepest sympathy, to you. I lost my Father on December the 8th, 2005. It has impacted my life so much, that I don't know what to do. That man was my life, my fishing buddy, my confidant, my Father. I just hope that some day soon I can write something as touching, thoughtful and loving about my Father. I'm still grieving and Well thank you for the beautiful poem. Sincerly, Rhonda Carpenter
  • tammy
    I actually cried when i read ur poem. Iv never been so touched by a poem before. Its one of the most beautiful poems iv read in my entire life about someone so dear to me, my dad. =)
  • Laura
    It really touched me and it hurts to read about dads because my dad never treated me like a daughter but i always felt that i was daddy's little girl. we never had a relationship and at 17 i became pregnant with my daughter. for two years he disowned me told me i was dead to him and that he no longer had a daughter but even though i suffered and cried i never gave up now my daughter is 13 years old and after 13years i finally confronted my dad. 3 months ago i recieved my first hug my first kiss and we forgave each other i never held a grudge or hate because i knew he did it for my best because i caused him so much pain but he did it the wrong way and as much as he didnt want to meet his granddaughter she is the world to him and we finally can move on i just didnt want him to ask me for forgiveness on his death bed because no matter what we only have one father and we are not promised tomorrow. he means the world to me and he is repaying all that back by spending time with his first granddaughter that looks identical to me. i am 31 single mom with three beautiful kids. i congratulate you on this beautiful poem you wrote and i know your dad is proud of you.
  • Amanda
    I really liked this poem it really got to me and it was realy really sad. I just really loved this poem. Amanda Beberstein
  • DIANA
    I LIKED THIS POEM BECAUSE I COULD RELATE TO IT. IT WAS HER INNER MOST DEEP FEELINGS OR HER PAIN AND SADNESS, LIKE A BLUES SONG!
  • Ashley
    Alayna-I can so relate to this poem, my dad was hit by a train 5 years ago. He now suffers from a severe brain injury. His brain injury has severly affected his memory, and his ability to function like he used to. So for the last 5 years I have been able to see him and touch him, and even talk to him, but it is not my Daddy in there anymore. I have always been a Daddy's girl so I suffer everyday. Great poem, know your not alone in the way you feel. You just put in writing exactly how I wish I could explain that I have felt since April of 99. Ashley B.
  • Vianney Marie
    Right there and then my tears rolled into my cheeks. Through the poem, I realized I am so lucky I grew up with my Dad. when he passed away, a part of me was torned, yet I know I have to move on-----A great poem!
  • Elaina
    that is so touching did it happen to you Alana if it did i give all of my sympathy towards you
  • julie
    I agree with how you feel. Don't ever feel bad about how you feel.
  • JOANNE MARIE
    Beautiful poem - I lost my Dad last year after many years of illness & long term care & completely empathise with you in the sense of losing them as a dad long before they are physically taken from us. My heart goes out to you.
  • Angelica
    I really liked this poem! It touched me. I can relate to it because my dad has been diagnosed w/ cancer over and over. and 3 years ago, he died of 3 brain tumors. He was like my best friend, and when I kept seeing him suffer for all them years, it really broke my heart! So, when I read this, I felt like I was talkin to him. Whoever wrote this poem, are really entact with their feelings.
  • Stella
    It really touched me, i my parents are seperated long time ago my dad wasnt here with me now i love ur poem
  • nani
    this poem is touching! because. its the reality. one day. it will happened.
  • CARMEN
    Your poem brought back memories I know how you feel I lost my dad four years ago also to a heart attack. Thats the way I feel also. Your poem made me cry cause I miss dad alot to especially because of my son. I know that my dad would be playing with my heart goes out to for being strong. He passed away on August 21,2001 my son was only 2 months when my father passed and it not easy getting over it then 2 yrs after that I lost my mother from cancer on Nov. 21,2003 I was 31 yrs. old when my dad passed away my son was 2yrs old when my mother passed.
  • Bruce
    i will leave this passage on my Dads grave site tommorrow after church service also it is fathers day too i miss my dad some times i forget that he is gone he brought me a lot of things in the past and they were not of materialistic value either i love you poppa dav that poem was very down right sincere. love always your son Bruce
  • jenny
    i like this poem as it is of great detail and very thoughtful from JENNY
  • donna
    that is an awesome poem i decated to my dad also keep dpoing great on your poems. tiffany
  • Christie
    This is a poem touched my heart I really loved it
  • jenny
    this poem hit right at home for me, my mother had a strok and i feel the same way about my mother as dose alana fells about her father,it is very hard to understand way i feel this way about my mother.
  • teassa
    this poem really helped me through alot my dad it in the hosptal right now he is dying of cancer and it is really hard to handel ur poem helped me alot thanks!
  • Ashley
    this poem was very good and deep. i can relate 2 it alot. i lost my father @ the age of 12 from an heartach and i am now 20 the pain will b there @ times but u got remember the good times and keep ur head up. it may be hard @ times but u gotta do ur best and think when times get rough, what would my dad want me 2 do? what would he say if i did this? or acted like this? i see it as u u keep some 1 u care about alive by talking about the good times and never forget what they have gave u or tryed 2 give u. if u keep the stories alive u will keep the person alive and if u keep there believes also u r keeping them aqlive and close to ur heart. good poem keep ur head up and keep writing. donr give up on ur dreams! god bless!
  • MALLORY
    WOW! i'm speachless. this poem is amazing! i love it! keep up the good poems. ilove reading theM!
  • rosie
    very touching, brought a tear to my eye
  • Breanna
    I love this poem because my father is the same way and i know how you feel now this is one of my favorite peom
  • Ashley
    I love this poem im srry bout ur loss and i no that if my daddy was to ever leave me in any way i'd feel the same way cuz im more of a daddy's gurl it like i can have every thing in the world but with out him it's nothing well jusno that i feel u and that u should get some of your poems published. ttyl
  • Kacie
    Wow, Alana your poem made me cry. My dad is not dead, but he might as well be. He is a drug addict, and I hardly ever see him, and even when I do so much of him is gone that it's not like I'm really seeing him. I really appreciated your poem.
  • rema
    This poem reminds me of my dad only my das is alive
  • Chelsea
    My dad died too in november and the first part of your poem says, summer will come along with my birthday, my birthday is also in the summer. That was so weird. It was a sweet poem though.
  • Leean
    This was a good one because i don't know who my dad is and i feel the emtiness of not having a dad there to do stuff with so i know how she feels in her poem.
  • michelle
    Ican definitly relate an think this a wonderful poem.
  • kristen
    that poem made me cry. i dont know if that really happend to you or not but it happend to me and yeah it was a really awesome poem
  • Peggy
    i can relate because my dad is suffering with cancer.
  • Mehnaz
    this is a really touching poem and is written with someones true passions. Who ever wrote it, has really expressed thier feelings
  • Stacey
    This poem is awesome! when i started to read it i figured it was just that he was gone aways. but towards the end i started to relize what it meant. i started to cry it was so beautiful! keep up the amazing work!
  • PATTY
    MY DAD PASSED 2 YEARS AGO AND I MISS HIM SO SO MUCH MY BEST FRIEND WENT TO HEAVEN BUT THE SAD PART IS MY MOTHER CHANGED TO SOMEONE I DONT KNOW WE USED TO BE CLOSE BUT WE DONT EVEN TALK SHE HAS KNOW TIME FOR ME ANYMORE ONLY MY OTHER SISTERS I GO TO VISIT BUT YOU CAN TELL SHE DOESNT WANT ME THERE SO I GOT TWO HEART BREAKS BOTH OF MY PARENTS ARE GONE I THINK YOUR POEM IS GREAT I CRIED KEEP WRITING YOU HAVE THE TALENT
  • Ericka
    this poem has really touched me! my dad goes to and from Las Vegas for work and i miss him dearly! thank you for making me realize how much i love my father!
  • jessica
    Hey Alana, im so so sorry bout your dad. your poem is so moving i started to cry. My dad used to live 8 hours away and i got to see him once every 2 weeks and i hated it and now he is home and i love it im so sorry it was a great poem though Jess
  • samantha
    hey this poem reminds me of my dad he got in to a car chars and he was in the hospital for like 3 weeks and he would just lie there and not move people dont understand why i couldnt stop crying i couldnt look at him and now hes gone and if hes was still here i know he would have of loved ur poem like me
  • brittany
    this peoms reached my hert about a father and a daughter relationship i like very much can u send me some more of your peotry just so i can read it thanks brittany.
  • Karla
    i dont know how it feels to loose my dad cause i wouldnt know what to do with out my dad, i recentely lost my closest uncle which was like a dad for me i just started crying cause this is exacly what happend with him the way he died little by little
  • mandy
    I really enjoyed this poem, i watched my father die for 7 long years. He was in and out of the hospital for much of my life, yet when he was home, everything seemed like it was changed. The poem was exactly how i felt, up to the day i lost my dad. It was like, it wasnt really him, it took me about a year to finally realize that my dad was really gone, after he died. I just kept telling myself he was back in the hospital, with his empty dead stare. This poem reminds me of well me. Thanks for sharing it.
  • barry
    its really nice that u have shown the importance of father in her/his life.
  • olga
    nice job i love this poem keep up with the work
  • yesenia
    i loved your poem i feel just the way you do because i los my dad 10 years go when i was 3 now im 13 and i wish he was still here to see me grow and become a young lady
  • Kirsty
    Wow that really hit me, my mum had a stroke last year and even tho she is fine now it was really hard at the time, she was there in front of me but she didnt seem like my mum, was the hardest time of my life. that poem was awesome :)
  • ousseynou
    very very very good
  • Rebecca
    I just lost my daddy your poem made me cry yet again. Not for the reasons most would think ,because you do understand . thank you .
  • Tami
    This poem touched me I am not going through what you are. But my parents are split up and i live with my mom so it is hard to be away from my dad. I write poems but I can never put how i feel down on paper thanks so much
  • Barbara
    Dear Alana, I Really Liked Your Poem About Your Dad. I Know How You Feel I Just Lost My Dad Sunday The 8th Of February And It Was Hard On Me. His Funeral Is This Friday the 13th The Day Before Valentine's day. Thank You For The Poem.
  • Christine
    This poem really touched me and made me cry just by reading it once
  • Rebecca
    My name is Rebecca and when i was 16 my dad passed away, it was the most unforgettable moment of my life and all the questions i asked my self when he left my life is all the questions that you have in your poem. I really didn't understand how it felt to have lost somebody so special, but now i do and i don't wish upon my enemies do go through something like i did with my dad. I love your peom and wish you the best becasue i really do think you have a gift at writting poems like this one to warmth somebodys heart, like you did to me.
  • Cath
    This poem made me cry, not only because it is beautiful but because everything in that poem happened to me. I lost my dad to cancer 5 1/2 years ago, he was unable to see me turn from a 20 year old girl to a successful 25 year old woman.
  • jessica
    this poem is wonderful! i know how you feel about your dad i lost my mom in 99 when i was almost 12
  • Joanna
    My Dad died from a stroke on November 25, 2003. I hated seeing him in such a horrible and helpless condition. Your poem really touched me. I pray your Dad gets the help he needs.
  • Jess
    I can relate to this poem alot. It's been 4 yrs since my dad passed away, i still havent gotten over it at all yet. This poem made me start to cry, its full of emotion and so touching at that, i love it!
  • JOHANNA
    its really good and sad
  • Tasha
    Im in tears. my dad had a stroke on his motercycle about 5 months ago and he has just now got to come home, its so hard to look at him. he's now paralyzed and i know that he is dead inside, he tries so hard to be like he used to be. but i also know its hard to pretend. i was trying to find a poem to relate to that and this is it. i too write poetry but i can never put exactly what i feel down onto paper. thnx so much.
  • wendy
    your poem was sweet and it kinda reminds me of what im going through right now. my father is really in bad shape he is dieing of cancer and doesnt have much longer to live. i come here and read these poems and they help me so much. theres not a day that goes by that i dont loose someone close. but knowing there is others who feels my pain makes me know i cant give up hope. i hope to see more poems on this site from u cause it has helped a bunch.
  • Debbie
    This is just how I feel. I understand completely. My Dad had a stroke 4 years ago along with a life killing illness. He has now passed away, due to his illnesses. I felt the way you do about your Dad and still do. I MISS MY DAD AND ALWAYS WILL!
  • 4 Him
    OMG I love your poem so much. I had tears in my eyes while reading it. I totaly understand what your going through. My dad died two months ago 8/29/03. Keep up the good work. you write so very well. (I'm 15)
  • Tahna
    Wow. Your poem is absolutely amazing and describes i think how everyone feels about losing a loved family member. I lost my dad 6 years ago when i was 14 and now, 20 years old, it still feels like yesterday! I loved your poem. Thank you for sharing
  • Jessica
    I loved that poem!. it was so touching! You have a talent for writing and its such a good poem!
  • susan
    I really understood your poem. My dad was just diagnosed with 4th stage cancer of the lung and neck bone. There is nothing they can do for him. They gave him a matter of time, he is still with us, but everyday I wonder if today will be the last day we have with him. He is my very best friend and I can't bear to lose him, and Im sorry to hear about your dad.
  • steve
    I'm so sorry. My Dad had a brain tumor 2 years before he finally died, and your right, they cut part of it out but he was never the same. He was gone long before he died. It's not fair, but I guess we have to focus on all of the good things in our lives too. Good Luck to you, It's a nice poem, brought tears to my eyes.
  • erin
    this poems describes my life so much but now when i cry people tell me it's been 5 years but you can get over your dad diying in 5 years . i was only 9 when my dad died and now i'm 14 and still have a big hole in my heart
  • Vivian
    I love ur poem. i lost my daddy on 3/6/02 at 2pm at the Singapore General Hospital. i miss him.
  • angel
    i've been taking care of my mom for 5yrs now,she has had alzheimer's for 14yrs. She's totally bedriden doesn't talk, feed herself,nothing . Ilook at her and wonder if she even knows me. we've shared so many memories but yet she can't remember none. It hurts so bad ,you see a body but when you look in there eyes no-one there.
  • penny
    i totally understand ,my dad died 21yrs ago and i haven't gotten over it yet. be strong and my god bless you!
  • Mandie
    This poem made me cry, it's so touching and very full of emotion and I just loved it. You can almost feel your soul through the words and how much you loved and still do love your dad, it's amazing how you write and it show's through the words , this poem is a beautiful peice and I loved it very much.
  • Megan
    I can totally see were you are coming from, my dad is not dead but is dieing as we speak. He has been fighting cancer some days I just wish he would die in his sleep so I dont got to watch him slip away
  • sophie
    my dad died to and i understand what u are saying i keep my feelings in side well done gr8 poem
  • Maria
    All I have to say is that I think this is a really great poem. I related your poem to my experience which is similar to yours. Thank You!
  • Robby
    Your poem is very sad I hated my dad but now that I read this poem and think about it I really don't hate him. This poem reminds me how lucky I really am. I thank you and I am truly sorry about your dad.
  • Soh
    My dad also left me last yr. I've never forget the feelings of losing him. It was very painful. It was hard to see him suffer. Even till now, I still cry whenever I think of him. Your poem touched my heart indeed. Live on well for yourself and your dad. He will love you forever and ever, regardless of where he is now.
  • amy
    i loved your poem. I lost my dad on October 13,2001. To this day everytime I think about him I cry. It still hurts as much today as the day he died.
  • Carol
    This Poem Was Beautiful! My father has mini strokes, which has caused a chemical embalance. There was a time I thought I had lost him too! just have faith and what happens is as God wants! Now my father is just fine, the doctors finilly found the right medication! And I thank God everyday for sending my father back to me!
  • Vero
    Your Poem is sooo real i feel the same way but my dad isn't dead he is here on Earth but is seem like if he was dead he is always working and doesn't have time for me i know how u feel I know ur pain is much larger then mine but hey iam happy to know that in my pain iam not alone the best of luck to u keep on wirteing i well be sure i do love always a friend
  • Erika
    I have two brothers and no sisters and in my family Im the "Daddy's Girl" I can't begin to imagine life without my father this poem relly spoke to me.
  • Liz
    Same with Kathy here. its difficult dealing with the situation. but it all comes down to facing the reality although it is tearing your soul apart. I love my mother sooo much
  • sunshine
    I can relate to how you actually feel Alana! My dad also have left me last year on 30 Sept 2001. I really felt so devastated. Although now I'm like back to normal, but deep down inside, I have never really managed to let go of this matter. He's the one & only I love. I hope he can also receive my love. I miss my dad. I love you forever DAD!
  • katie
    I CAN RELATE COMPLETLY MY DAD DIED 5 YEARS AGO FROM A STROKE I KNOW ITS HARD BUT ATLEAST HE IS ALIVE MY GRANDMAW DIED AFTER HIM AND SHE LIVED THROUGH 5 STROKES BUT I COULD ATLEAST SEE HER. I HOPE IT GETS EASIER AND THAT WAS A WONDERFUL POEM.
  • nikki
    4 years ago my dad was in a car accident and when i read your poem it was perfect cuz thats how it is every time i see him
  • sister
    One of the most touching poems i have ever read.. thankyou for sharing.i lived every second of reading it.
  • Davi
    It was a beautiful poem that brought tears to my eyes! I loved it! It ment alot to me in many different aspects!
  • Zoraida
    This poem is very sad i can understand what you were feeling because i lost my dad when i was 9 and all it has been 4 years since he died and i can steel rememer it like it was yesterday. when i read this poem i felt like you were writing through what i am feeling.. i wrote a poem similar to this one 2 years after my dad died. your poem made me cry its just wonderful..
  • Sam
    This poem is amazing and I feel deeply for the person who wrote and wish u all the best
  • Angelique
    The poem is very nice. It reminds me of my father.
  • Lisa
    This peom is very sad ,,but wonderfull. My brother-in-law died of cancer and left five children behind. His oldest daughter misses him dearly.
  • Leonna
    I loved your poem. I appreciate your complete honesty. I believe your Dad knows how you feel, even if it doesn't seem like he possibly could.
  • Kathy
    This is so touching. I could have written this except changing the word Dad to MOM.
  • Anon
    so touch and so sad.

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