Heaven Is Never Too Far Her hair up in a pony tail,
her favorite dress tied with a bow
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
and she couldn't wait to go
But her mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home
Why the kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone
But she was not afraid;
she knew just what to say
What to tell her classmates,
on this Daddy's Day
But still her mother worried,
for her to face this day alone
And that was why once again,
she tried to keep her daughter home
But the little girl went to school,
eager to tell them all
About a dad she never sees,
a dad who never calls.
There were daddies along the wall in back,
for everyone to meet
Children squirming impatiently,
anxious in their seats
One by one the teacher called,
a student from the class
To introduce their daddy,
as seconds slowly passed
At last the teacher called her name,
every child turned to stare
Each of them were searching,
for a man who wasn't there
"Where's her daddy at?"
she heard a boy call out
"She probably doesn't have one,"
another student dared to shout
And from somewhere near the back,
she heard a daddy say
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offend her,
as she smiled at her friends
And looked back at her teacher,
who told her to begin
And with hands behind her back,
slowly she began to speak
And out from the mouth of a child,
came words incredibly unique
"My Daddy couldn't be here,
because he lives so far away
But I know he wishes he
could be with me on this day
And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know
All about my daddy,
and how much he loves me so
He loved to tell me stories,
he taught me to ride my bike
He surprised me with pink roses,
and taught me to fly a kite
We used to share fudge sundaes
and ice cream in a cone
And though you cannot see him,
I'm not standing all alone
'Cause my daddy's always with me,
even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
he'll forever be here in my heart"
With that her little hand reached up,
and lay across her chest
Feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favorite dress
From somewhere in the crowd of dads,
her mother stood in tears
Proudly watching her daughter,
who was wise beyond her years
She stood up for the love
of a man not in her life
Doing what was best for her,
doing what was right
When she dropped her hand back down,
staring straight into the crowd
She finished with a voice so soft,
but its message clear and loud
"I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star
If he could he'd be here,
but heaven's just too far
Sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away."
Then she closed her eyes,
and saw him there that day
To her mother's amazement,
she witnessed with surprise
A room full of daddies and children,
all starting to close their eyes
Who knows what they saw before them,
who knows what they felt inside
Perhaps for a second,
they saw him at her side.
"I know you're with me Daddy,"
to the silence she called out
What happened next made believers,
of those once filled with doubt
No one in that room could explain it,
for each of their eyes had been closed
But there placed on her desktop,
was a beautiful fragrant pink rose
A child was blessed, if only a moment,
by the love of her shining bright star.
And given the gift of believing,
that heaven is never to FAR.

Cheryl Costello-Forshey
Copyright 2000