I laughed with a shake of my head

Never count me out as done or dead

I smiled my quiet denouncement

At the premature announcement

And she sought to find me unfit

As a father, unworthy of even a bit

Of time with my daughters

While I clung to being their father

Living the nightmare, one day at a time

Wondering how it wasn’t a crime

To say that even a dying man

Doesn’t deserve to do what he can

To be his very best as a father

And love very deeply each of his daughters