Thirteen names
Written on his skin
Inked like roads
Back to the pieces
Of his heart
Nine of them
Run to him
Call him Daddy
Know the weight
Of his love
In real time
Four of them
Live in silence
In distance
In places
He can’t reach
No matter
How far
His spirit stretches
But he carries them
All thirteen
Every day
Every breath
Every heartbeat
A roll call
Of the lives
He helped begin
Nine know
His laughter
His lessons
His arms
Four don’t know
His voice
His stories
Or the way
He whispers their names
Before he sleeps
Still
He loves them
All of them
With a love
That doesn’t shrink
Just because
Life built walls
He didn’t ask for
Thirteen names
On one man’s body
Thirteen souls
In one man’s chest
Thirteen reasons
He keeps fighting
To be better
Than the man
He was yesterday
And maybe one day
The four
Who don’t know
Will learn
What the nine
Already see
His love
Never left
It just had
Nowhere
To go
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Author:
Anthony Hanible (
Offline) - Published: June 24th, 2026 02:31
- Category: family
- Views: 1
- Users favorite of this poem: Anthony Hanible
Offline)
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