In the quiet spaces of a child's heart,
Echoes of footsteps that never depart,
Whispers of a father's touch,
Yet never felt, but longed for much.

A father's absence leaves a hollow sound,
Silent tears in dreams unbound,
A chair at the table always bare,
A longing gaze, a vacant stare.

There are fathers in shadows, unseen, unknown,
Burdened by choices, their hearts turned to stone,
Forced to father, yet their spirits roam,
A stranger in the place meant to be home.

Some fathers come not from blood, but love,
Stepping in with grace from above,
Binding hearts with tender care,
Becoming the fathers who are always there.

And then, the men with hearts so wide,
Dreaming of children by their side,
Yearning to hold what life's denied,
Fathers in spirit, with arms open wide.

To all these fathers, known and unknown,
In every corner where love has grown,
A tapestry of hopes, joys, and fears,
Woven with threads of absent years.

In the silence, in the unseen tears,
In the echoes that reach across the years,
Love endures, and hope remains,
In the hearts of fathers through joys and pains.
© Thabiso Dube