Dear Dad

My father has a reputation in the family for being the strict one. And honestly, growing up, most of his emotions arrived disguised as advice, warnings, or lectures I barely survived.

But I think that is the strange thing about fathers.

Their love often hides itself in practical things — in “drive safe” messages, in early mornings, in sacrifices they never speak about out loud. Somewhere along the way, many fathers are taught to carry love quietly instead of showing it freely.

And maybe that is why we speak so little about them.

I wrote this poem because I think fathers deserve reminders too. Reminders that they are loved not only for what they provide, but for who they are beneath all the responsibility. That somewhere inside every strict father is still someone’s little boy, trying his best to hold the world together for the people he loves.

If this poem reminds you of someone who loved quietly all their life, maybe it belongs with them.