Daddy's Gone

• Pauline Doan, Grade 6
• Poetry
• 2007

I had a dream. And this is how the dream went. A boy was scared that his dad would leave him. He only had his dad. His mum left years ago. He followed his dad everywhere day and night. His daddy told him he wasn’t going anywhere and his daddy loved him. His daddy decided it was time to leave so one night when his son went to bed he came into his son’s bedroom and sang to him while he was asleep…. “Until the day you’ll understand why. But I had to leave, but I had to go I’m the reason why your mamma left and I raised you all alone.” The next day he woke up and checked if his dad was still in his room sleeping. When the boy opened the door he was gone. The boy started to cry. He took care of himself for months and his dad was still gone. The boy had cried and prayed for years. His daddy had wanted to know how his son was; his daddy wished he could tell his son “Daddy’s gone so please be strong. You’ll grow up into a bigger man and hope you’ll understand why I had to leave.”