"Man, Dad, you call yourself a man?"

Heartbreaking Father's Day cards from kids in juvenile hall.

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Jun 13, 2003 | Stranger in my eyes

Man, Dad, you call yourself a man?
You been my enemy since the start
with your bullshit abortion plan.
Weren't there for the first steps that I walked.
Weren't there for the first words that I talked.
It's funny 'cause if we passed each other on the outs,
You'd be a stranger in my eyes without a doubt.
It feels wrong to say I'm half you
'cause the only fatherly love I got
was from da homies in da crew.
Sometimes, it feels like I couldn't raise my own
Because of all those father-son experiences you stole.
I've been deprived of a God-given right.
You should think about that because mom cries at night.
Hope that haunts your cold ass heart till da day you go out.
Until the next time.

-- Da Fatherless Nicoya One

To be real

To be real, on Father's Day, my mom is going to be the one to receive a card full of love, 'cause my father was never in my life. He was the type to disappear and call moms, saying he need some money. I really don't feel him 'cause he put my moms through hell and back. All I got to say is fuck my dad. Happy Father's Day, mom, I love you.

-- Britt Boog

Daddy didn't love me

I don't think you'd wanna call him a man, if you knew the dude. All he used to be for me was money, but he won't even help us out no more, and we're struggling. My mom calls him party boy. All he does is smoke weed, drink, and party all the time. He is a professional bartender. He's probably a pro-bar hopper too. He's gay, but he calls himself bisexual, just like my two exes -- who are now together. He molested me when I was two years old. This is a dead issue. I have a dead beat dad. Daddy didn't love me. Daddy wasn't there.

-- II Far Gon

Clean for eleven months

Dad I remember growing up as a kid, which I still am. You were never really there for me. Every time I saw you it would take another six to seven months to see you again. Every time I would ask my mom if I could go to see you, she would try to turn me against you, which was not wrong of her. You would always ask me when I saw you, "why don't you call me?" But you should have been the man and called me to see how I was doing.

But to make up for all the days, months, and years we were apart you are making up for that.

I give you two thumbs up for being clean for eleven months.

-- Joseph

You ain't nothin'

Man, dad, fuck you.
You ain't nothin'
because you cut out like a snitch?
And you act like you all of it
but you really ain't none of it
I remember when your fake self cut
and left me stuck
like Chuck without a buck
I feel you ain't nothin'
and you never will be nothin'
and I'm gonna live without you
and if you died, I wouldn't cry
I would spit on your grave
I remember when I was a young nigga
mom told me my poppa ain't nothing
so my plan was to hit licks and flip chips
so I don't need Poppa for none of
and if I see him walking down the street alone
I will just continue on and go back home
and smoke a fat one to the dome
but you know how the game goes ...
Fo' the niggas that ain't got no daddies:
my daddy ain't nothin'
I have been through hard times
and now it's time to shine
and that nigga betta not ask me for a dime
'Cause what I got is mine.

-- Little Flipper

You would always beat me

I remember when I was in kindergarten. You would always beat me. I was only a little girl and I didn't really know what was going on. It was all because of drugs. Dad, you really hurt me, and even though it got worse by the week, I still love you, because you're my Dad. I've had a hard life, Dad, and I just want to let you know I haven't forgotten that, and I still hurt inside.

-- Huera

Unfinished

I get mad
'Cause you don't even deserve
That label: Dad,
You left me a fable
About a man who works for
AT&T cable
As I sit at this table
That's bolted down to the floor
Livin' behind a four-inch steel door
With time to think
All these questions start to surface
In my mind
They hurt so much
Smoked drugs, so now the answers
Are hard to find
So many questions
So much time
I find you didn't care
It isn't fair
That you weren't there
You're like Yogi the bear
The way you got on
My memory of you is a blank space
You were gone
Like the wind
My momma was strong
Even under the pressure she
Didn't bend
We men
My only question is when
I was a little boy
You never bought me one toy
I'm gonna leave this unfinished
Like you left us
I got to make it for me
And that's a must

-- Deep Speech

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