YTP

Now that your mother
and father are gone
will you give credit where credit is due
and remember, they loved you?

Your father was someone you criticized
but didn't notice how hard he tried
to make a monument of his life
to the causes of truth and freedom and right

And now your father is gone...

How hard can it be to be the daughter
of people who stood for virtue and honor
when all the world crumbled into sin
and they only had memories of what had been
to guide them...

Your mother caught you when you fell
and died before her time.
She gave up a part of her life to save you
she was loyal and didn't betray you
her tears, her years and yours combine
intertwine...

When your father received
his twenty-one guns,
did you think of wasted years
and loving that wasn't done
did you know his heart kept your place
that no one else could replace
his love was there if you believed
and reached to receive...

I ache for your regrets
and the bitter tears that you will shed
now and then in years ahead
wishing you'd settled things long before
and reached for the love you were longing for
that you can't reach anymore.