I Love You

A daughter was born into this world
One dark and stormy day
A premature baby
Whose life was at play
She lay in an isolette
In the NICU ward
Her father came to see her
And visit everyday
Everytime he left her
In the care of the doctors
He always smiled and whispered
"I love you Vesper"

His daughter soon grew
And came home alive and well
She learned to smile and laugh
How to play and be herself
And every night he put her to bed
He always smiled and kissed her
And patted her on the head
Then turned out the light and whispered
"I love you Vesper"

Soon she grew into a touchy, young teen
Who went to Jr. High
And thought she was a queen
They started to fight
And she learned to disagree
But every night he still whispered
"I love you Vesper"

He now had a teenage on his hands
Who had dreams she wanted to achieve
She wanted to party
She wanted to drive
She wanted to be popular
She wanted to thrive
He worried and wondered night and day about her
Would she make the right choices at school today?
She learned to argue
And how to hold back
She learned how to love
And how to let go
She learned about the future from the past
He always said "I love you"
And that was the only thing that didn't change

But one day he forgot to say it
And he felt so bad
When he heard a friend saying
That there was a shooting
Right where his daughter was
He got in the car
And refused to look back
He prayed for the best
But prepared for the worst
He rushed to the hospital
He rushed to her side
She opened her eyes
And smiled while taking his hand
She coughed up some blood which he wiped away
Their eyes met as he heard her say,
"I love you too, daddy."