Only a Dad
Ashleigh Thompson
Only a Dad by Edgar Albert Guest
Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.
Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.
Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.
Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen,
Only a dad, but the best of men.
Family Man by Craig Campbell
I've been working as a temp
At the local factory
I hope they hire me on full time
I've got shoes to buy and a mouth to feed
I drive a buy here, pay here truck
It ain't new, but it is to me
It ain't much, but it fires right up
And gets me from A to B
What puts the dirt underneath my nails?
What keeps the calluses on my hands?
Family, man
They're the world my world revolves around
My sacred piece of solid ground
The flesh and bone
That gives me strength to stand
They are the fire in my drivin' on
The drive behind my comin' home
The livin', breathin', reason that I am
A family man
There's dirty shirts to wash
Dishes in the sink to do
And there's how many times
Does 17 go into 52?
There's bedtime prayers to pray
Sleep tights and I love you's
And then there's a pair of eyes
I get to lose myself into
What keeps me keepin' the faith?
What makes me believe I can?
Family, man
They're the world my world revolves around
My sacred piece of solid ground
The flesh and bone
That gives me strength to stand
They are the fire in my drivin' on
The drive behind my comin' home
The livin', breathin', reason that I am
A family man
They're the fire in my drivin' on
The drive behind my comin' home
The livin', breathin', reason that I am
A family man, a family man
0:53 - 1:28
How Could I Have Known, by Ashleigh Thompson
How could I have known the cancer was so strong,
When he had been hiding it all along,
Trying his best to make sure his children didn’t learn,
So that he could avoid our looks of concern.
Always facing the battle head on,
From the moment he knew, until he was gone.
How could I have known his time was running out,
He never showed signs nor gave us any doubt.
He continued hunting, fishing, and so much more,
When deep inside, I know daily living was a chore.
He never complained of the pain he withstood,
Always aiming to shield us from everything he could.
How could I have known the secret he kept,
Concealing the suffering and tears that he wept.
Striving to protect us from all of the pain,
He kept a positive outlook to help him sustain.
The strength he portrayed came at a cost,
At the end of the day, all his might was lost.
How could I have known behind his precious smile,
Of the battle he was fighting all the while.
His efforts were successful in hiding the sorrow,
I never lost hope for his chance at tomorrow.
For my hero, my dad, the man I adore,
How could I have known what God had in store.