“Memories of a Stranger”

You never looked back.
Was it easy to go?
Easy to leave me behind,
The child you would never know?

Do you still remember?
Do you wonder if I cried?
Does it sneak into your dreams,
Keep you awake at night?

You left me with your name,
It means nothing to me.
You left me questions
Of how life should really be.

I can’t recall your voice,
Your name sometimes slips my mind.
I can’t remember your face,
Although sometimes I close my eyes and try.

But why should I cry?
I shouldn’t care at all.
Were you there when I cried?
After a nightmare or fall?

You’re nothing to me now,
As I was to you then.
I have no proof that you existed,
You didn’t care that I did.

So this will be the last time
I’ll ever have to cry.
Or wonder why you didn’t want me
Why you couldn’t try.

A picture and a name,
This is all I have to show.
These are my memories
Of a father I’ve never known.

Written By: SM Grady

*This poem was originally written over 15 years ago