Daddy’s little girl

“I miss you, Daddy,” she whimpers

crying in the night

holding her dear teddy bear

waiting for daylight

hoping against hope

that when she opens her eyes

Daddy will be there

and give everyone a surprise;

They keep saying he’s not coming back

that he’s gone to be with God

but she’s praying he’s just hiding

though that thinking is flawed

for she saw him lying in the church

saw them put him in the ground

watched them cover him with dirt

placed flowers on the mound.

She burrows under the blankets

hugs her teddy to her heart

quietly listens to the silence

for a whisper in the dark;

if she listens closely,

she’s certain that it’s true,

she’ll hear her daddy say to her

“Darlin’, I miss you, too.”