It's been a long time, hasn't it, friend?
May I be vulnerable?
I know. Social media isn't the place for vulnerability. It's a place of smiling pictures and happy facades. If that's what you're looking for, keep scrolling.
I won't keep you.
I wrote a letter to my father. You don't have to read it, but I know he never will so you might as well.
Anyway
Today's your birthday. That's okay. It's just a day. But if there was never you, there wouldn't be me. I'm here anyway.
I baked a cake you'll never taste. That's okay. I burned it anyway.
I wrote a song you'll never hear. That's okay. I'll never sing it anyway.
I wrote a book you'll never read. It's full of all the words I never said. That's okay. I'll never say them anyway.
I look in the mirror and sometimes I see your face. Sometimes I see mine. That's okay. We both have gray hair anyway.
It's been 450 days since it started raining. It doesn’t feel like it ever stopped raining. That's okay. I built a boat, but it rains anyway.
The country you loved and spent 25 years in was invaded two weeks after you left. I wish I could say the war is over, but it's not. It's not okay, but they're still fighting anyway.
It's not okay. We're not okay. I’m not okay. But I have to be anyway. So I will be anyway.
You told me to keep my heart tender. I can't count the number of times it's broken, but that's one promise I kept anyway.
You warned me about the ticking clock of time. I can hear it now. I can see thestrals now. If they were real, anyway.
I'll be okay.
One day
Anyway
Happy birthday, Papa
