Dear Dad...

How can I tell you now,
Just how much you've always meant,
Just how proud I've always been

How can I tell you now,
That you have always been my hero,
Everything I want to be

Here you are, this shell of the father I once knew,
Whose face is more dear to me each passing day
Even in your pain making me proud, still

Your sense of humor endears you to all around;
I see the women who can now barely function,
The smiles that light their faces when you stop to kid with them.

What a man you are,
Still the greatest man I've ever known,
Still my biggest hero

Here you are, a victim of life's most hideous disease,
Yet you go on making others feel special,
Making a difference in so many lives

Dear Dad, can I ever be so great as you?
Can I ever let you know how much you mean?
You are one of God's most precious angels

And I thank Him for each day
He allows us to go on having time together,
As this cruel disease slowly steals you from me.

Copyright © 1999 Julie Western-Zuge
Used with permission of the author.

Julie has written a series of poems for her father,
an Alzheimer's victim, and she is sharing them with
us here and on the next few pages. Thank you so much,
Julie, for sharing.

Email Julie at: jwz@tznet.com