ANANYA MAHAPATRA, IX-G

This father’s day, my dad had gone to work

He was out of the house before I even awoke.

I’d planned to surprise him with breakfast in bed

But sadly that thought remained as a dream in my head.

At first I was furious and fuming about

On this special day, why did he have to go out?

All my preparations and plans went down the drain

All because my father had a meeting to attend.

At least he’ll be back before lunch, I hoped

But was I right? Well…let’s see…nope!

He still had paperwork to fill and complete

And some special clients he was required to meet.

And all that time, I simply sat at home,

Waiting for him to come back soon.

I waited and waited for hours upon end,

And yet, he had several more emails to send.

I cried a bit, out of pure frustration

We were supposed to celebrate this special occasion!

It was a day for us to be together

To forget the world and spend time with each other.

It was father’s day, for heaven’s sake

How could he plan to be home so late?

I’d tried so hard but it all was a waste,

The fruit of my efforts, he couldn’t taste.

I felt hurt and angry and mad and sad,

I felt oh-so, very terribly bad.

As evening rolled by, I got even more upset with him,

I decided never to forgive this sin.

I planned to shout and throw a tantrum,

About how his job ruined my day because of its silly problems.

That I had such high hopes but they all crashed down

And that I was angry with him for making me frown.

So I spent the rest of the day crushing the dreams I had built,

Waiting for him to feel immense guilt.

When he finally came home it was already time for bed

So he peeked into my room, where I was sitting with a drowsy head.

And with a gentle smile and apologetic eyes,

He sat beside me and let out a soft sigh.

“Happy father’s day,” I whispered, trying my best to frown

But I couldn’t because his mere presence had turned my mood around.

I realized how hard he always tried

To make sure our family never cried.

And I realized how much he meant to me

And that I’d gotten upset over something really silly.

I realized that he’d also looked forward to this day

And now that it was over, he didn’t know what to say.

He felt terrible for disappointing me

And I felt the same because of my stupidity.

I shouldn’t have gotten mad over trivial things like this

Because all I really wanted was to see that beautiful smile of his.

What really mattered was that he was now there with me

After a day of working hard to care for and support me.

He was alive and well and able to laugh

And he was strong and protective and very, very tough.

I was lucky to have him, I slowly understood

And to get mad at him for doing his job, simply made me a fool.

And anyway, who cared if that one day was wasted?

For us, plenty more days definitely awaited.

I didn’t need that one single day

To show him how much I appreciated his ways.

I could celebrate father’s day whenever I wanted

Simply by telling my dad how much I loved him.

So in that moment, when he carefully embraced me

I forgave him for all of that day’s misery.

And then, when I said, “Dad, I love you.”

He just chuckled and replied, “Darling, I love you too.”