Daughter

DAUGHTER

I drank away my pain last night,

On my one night off a week.

You scream to let me know,

I don’t get time to sleep.

My head is pounding,

My body aches,

But I’m up at five,

Reading to you,

And playing games.

You throw your bottle,

Hit me in the face.

You slow my progress daily,

As you increase yours.

I never dreamed I’d be,

A single mom at twenty-three,

Doing this alone is like a bad dream

Coming true.

But aside from all the headaches,

All the bills past due,

Every dirty look,

And all the sleepless nights too,

Life would be a nightmare,

If I didn’t have you.

If I didn’t have little toes to kiss,

And a smile to get me by,

Even though it looks like your dad’s,

That smile makes me push through.

You saved my life and don’t even know,

I may have given you the gift of life,

But life gave me the gift of you.