Life, love, loss

Daddy, Pray With Me
Written: Started 2001, finished March 8, 2006

Every night we knelt at the foot of her bed.
She took my hand and always said,
“Daddy, pray with me.”
And so, I would always agree.
Together we look to the sky-
And send this prayer way up high.

Now I lay me down to sleep-
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I awake-
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Daddy’s girl has since moved away-
Leaving me with only memories of those days.
Now it seems only the silence looms-
Yet, every night I go into her old room.
I kneel at the foot of her bed-
And remember what she always said-
“Daddy, pray with me.”
So, I fold my hands together and silently agree.
I look up towards the sky-
And send this prayer way up high.

Now I lay me down to sleep-
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I awake-
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Fifteen years later, she got the call to come home quick-
Daddy was not doing real well-he’d become really sick.
As she drove, all she could think about was all the memories of her childhood-
He couldn’t be dying, she must have misunderstood!
Barely parking the car, she rushed in to make sure her father was okay-
But when she saw him, she began to cry because she knew he was slipping away.
She smiled as she gently touched his hand and he awoke-
Back the tears she had to choke.
He squeezed her hand and said, “Baby girl, it’s time for me to go-
Please never forget that I love you so.”
The tears in his eyes she could see-
So she suddenly said, “Daddy, pray with me”.
His tear stained smile meant that he’d agreed.
With tears in her eyes, she looked up towards the sky-
And together they sent this prayer way up high.

Now I lay me down to sleep-
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I awake-
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

When she glanced back down, she knew he had passed away-
But for one more time, her and her daddy got to pray.
Now I lay me down to sleep-
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I awake-
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

©2006 Candice M. Martin