A Letter To Abigail And Gabriella Poem by Maurice Harris

I would love to say I know, but may only guess
What your voices sound like, or what likeness
Your visages truly take-I wonder: 'still like me! ? '
Tragically, I still know not when be, for myself, I might see-
Or when mine ears may partake in your melodious voices!
I lament that I was never given choices,
And that I am sure to be portrayed, as much
Less honorable than I am-as such,
I am also sure to be unfairly villified
As a 'dead beat', or someone equally unqualified
To seek empathy from a world already biased against me!
I may as well stand mute, but then who would the antagonist be?

This is a fate I would never wish upon anyone;
My heart aches more all the time, and will before this day is done.
There exists a void in my soul naught may measure,
As I mourn the Angels, with whom I have never spoken, but treasure
More than anything else in this whole world-
Tonight, this Father weeps for the little girls
Who were never given forums to voice their wants!
No one should ever be treated so callously-it haunts
Me each and every day of my life-
That I may not now do aught, to affect your strife!
You suffering is ignored, because it does not comport
With the wants of your guardians, and those with whom they consort;
On more than one occasion, my acquiescence has been sought-
Though my cooperation may not be bought,
Not when I am asked to sign away
My parental rights-no, not this or any other day!

Time is the only ally that truth really needs-
As time marches on, truth obviates and deceit concedes!
Nowhere will this be more crystal clear,
Than when our estrangement ceases and you are again near-
So that I might answer each and every query,
To allay your fears, where now, you are surely leery!

To Abigail: I tried my beloved-God knows I really tried,
To offer you the best life; I even lied
To myself, for as long as I possibly could-
You were my only love, it would have done no good
To pretend I was enamored by your Mother;
It was doomed from the start and cost me the friendship of another
Extraordinary lady, that my heart laments to this day!
That I may supplant that ardor foregone, I do pray!

To Gabriella: Our estrangement is perhaps easier to explicate:
I am sure by now you are privy to the paranoia she did create!
One may not battle such ignorance, with ration or reason-
Her delusional deceit became soon, her all-consuming treason!
Now, perpetually protected and out of reach,
She is oblivious to anything I might otherwise beseech!
All this said makes it no easier to understand-
So many layers of 'justice' in the palm of her hand,
Seemingly ready and willing to do as she would command-
As thought the entire tragedy were expertly planned!

When the veridical voice of time
Exposes all the deceit, and we are prime-
Then, and only then, may an attempt be made to explicate
The complex series of events that rendered our fate!
My most sincere hope is that then,
When all is laid before you, you will never again
Query the love or devotion that I posses,
Nor begrudge me, due circumstances I confess!
This is all I do now, or ever, ask of you:
Believe, though circumstance conspired to belie it-I always did love you!
You are both my first thoughts, upon a new day's dawn,
And surely to, my last, when the day's gone!