My Dad, Across The Sea Poem by Natasa To

My dad, you left this world
far from the place we called home,
in Vietnam, beneath a distant sky,
and I was left learning
how to live with your absence.

A stroke took your breath,
but it could never take
the love you gave me,
the memories you left behind,
or the sound of your voice
that still lives inside my heart.

I wish I could have held your hand,
said all the things I never said,
and told you one more time
how much you meant to me.

The miles between us
could not make you less my father.
And death cannot make you less loved.

So wherever you are now, Dad,
I hope you know—
I carry you with me every day.
In my memories,
in my heart,
in the person I am becoming.

Vietnam may hold your resting place,
but you will always have a home
inside me.

Rest peacefully, Dad.
Until the day we meet again,
I will love you,
I will remember you,
and I will never forget
that I was lucky enough
to call you my father.