Father Missing

Her mother died
Giving birth to her,
And her father,
In his anguish,
And his pain,
Fled the hospital
And was never
Seen again.
He never even saw
His daughter,
And never knew
She needed his love
As much as
He needed hers.
She grew up
To be a beautiful
Young woman
In the care of her
Maternal grandparents,
But no matter
How much they loved
And cared for her,
She still felt the sting
Of a father
Who never loved her
Or even held her.
She tried desperately
To find him years later,
But never could,
And in all probability,
He drowned himself in drink,
Never recovering from
The love he lost
When he lost his wife.
Now she is a young woman
Who tells herself
She has dealt with
All of that,
That she has
Reconciled herself
To the fact
That her father
Never loved her,
And now she searches
For a man who will
Love her as much as
She needs to be loved.
The only challenge is
A poisoned question lingers
In the back of her mind.
If her own father
Could not love her,
Then how could anyone else?
Only if she chooses
To interpret the love
He must have had
For her mother,
As the same love
He had for her,
Will she ever be free
To experience the love
Another man has to give.