The Father's Day Card

The Father’s Day Card

She looks for a card in the grocery store
The cards talk of fairy tale fathers
Who fish and play ball with their boys
Let the daughters practice their feminine wiles
On the first, most important man of their lives

Why can’t they make cards for the fathers
Who love their kids when they’re present
And who forget them when they’re not
Who hugs and says he loves them
But shows little investment in their dreams

She wonders if she should lie
And call him what he could be
If he really wanted to try
Like her mother expected the best from her
Even when she fell short at times

Or should she find a generic card
To a generic father
And hopes he misses the words
Like he misses lyrics in a song
And isn’t offended by the coldness

Finally, she solves her dilemma,
She picks out a grandparent’s card
And signs it from the kids, herself and her husband
And hopes he understands it’s never too late
To start acting like a father