My Dearest Pa

• Annabel Krienke, Grade 6, Templestowe Park Primary School
• Poetry
• 2017

Finalist in the 'Write Here Write Now 2017' competition

Nervously I await the news, pacing up and down.
Fingernails bitten to the quick, and on my face a frown.
My dearest Pa has been so sick, for oh so very long.
They did every test imaginable, but do not know what's wrong.
Before he goes to surgery, I hold his hand and cry.
My dearest Pa come back to me, or I will surely die.
So, nervously I await the news, pacing up and down.
The nurses come and offer tea, in my fear I'll surely drown.
The Doctor comes, his face is grave, my heart it skips ten beats.
For I must try hard to be brave, yet all I do is weep.
"It's serious", I hear him say, "it’s cancer and it’s spread."
He says he's done all he can do, yet all I feel is dread.
I tiptoe into my Pa's room, trying not to cry.
He looks so frail just lying there, oh he will surely die.
But my Pa is tough, and he is strong, so he will not leave me.
He fights until the bitter end, then leaves me peacefully.