I’m surrounded by a crowd of people without a dad.

All ages. all in pain. Why?

I don’t know but this rite of passage shit is all wrong.

Some manage to break the chain; some sadly go on to become the abuser,

and on it goes.

This abuse takes on many guises, it is insidious, and I don’t know.

Selfishness, threats, degrading insults, fear, lack of empathy.

No model to follow.

A man puts his child to bed, holds them close chasing away nighttime fears

He provides financially. He puts himself last. Sits at plays,

in the dance studios standing on touchlines in the cold.

Collecting conkers. Drinking Santa’s milk.

Putting their feet in the sea, chasing the end of the rainbow

placing their hand on the bike’s saddle,

celebrating graduations

cushioning life’s falls and making it all right.

There is nothing greater than being a father, a dad

The success of a man is revealed in his children’s faces.