To My Daughter
I walk through the day, hidden in my disguise.
With fear in my heart and pain in my eyes.
Fear of a man?
Hell no,
Fear of a woman.
Well I would say so,
Not fear of bodily harm.
Like broken legs or broken arms.
I fear the way she looks at me today.
What she thinks of me because I am away.
I am sorry I betrayed her trust
When I speak to myself, I scream and cuss.
I can only apologize for all my mistakes.
But I promise to make it up to her!
Whatever it takes.
I have lost so much in search of gain.
When this journey’s over I will never leave home again.
All my life I dedicate to you.
Always know, without a doubt,
That I Love You.
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
left me speechless
Absolutely beautiful.
Very touching.
I´m actually very surprised of how well written most of the poetry here is.
Keep up the good job job Guys, literature redeems!
Really beautifully written.
The message here is wonderful. It’s so good to see that this man cares for his daughter and is sorry for what he’s done. As for the poem itself, it sounds like a lot of what Eminem writes about, but makes him look like Gary Busey.
Beautiful poem, I teared up a bit at the end.
man, that’s a tearjerker. i really liked the rhythm, and the rhymes felt very natural. i hope your daughter gets to read it. thanks for posting this! peace.
Really excellent work. I love the line “I have lost so much in search of gain.” You say so much with that one line and it is very powerful. I want to know more about what you mean when you say “Fear of a woman”. Does this mean you are afraid for your daughter the way any mother is afraid for her child? That is the first impression that I got, but the next few lines make it sound like what you are saying is that you are afraid of what a woman would be afraid of (emotional damage) more than what a man would be afraid of (physical damage). Maybe you mean both! Either way there are a lot of good ideas in this poem and I like how it ends on a positive note. Good job, keep writing!
This is beautiful. Fitting and powerful, I am inspired by your honesty. Your phrasing is great. My favorite line is, “I have lost so much in search of gain.” Wow. Outstanding.
This was beautiful. I hope he can get out and live the life he wants to live. Never lose hope, there’s always a silver lining.
There should be a book of these… they are incredibly inspirational, and seem to serve a good purpose.
This is beautiful!
This is a touching poem; you show concern and dedication to your daughter. Writing poems forces us to be expositional and honest, both with ourselves and the reader, and you have achieved that. Poetry brings out our rawest emotions that we sometimes don’t want to address, especially if they are painful. The fear you feel of disappointing your daughter shows that you want to change from when things went bad, and that you always will put her before yourself and be there for your little girl, no matter what. Keep writing!!
Very well written. Inspires empathy early on and keeps it throughout. You should definitely keep writing!
That is truly beautiful.
This is so amazing and honest. I’m touched by your bravery in writing this. True poety is something that speaks to the reader and touches their heart. You have definitely done this.
This poem is fantastic. Thank you for being so open, vulnerable, and honest with us. Your poem is about owning mistakes, and that you promise to do better next time. Your line saying “I fear the way she looks at me today” was the most hard hitting part of your poem to me. That one line shows your regret and your wish to change things for the future. I love that you recognized that the only thing left for you to do was to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them. Great job!
This is beautifully written. I can tell from your writing how much you love your daughter. I love that you can accept and acknowledge the mistakes you have made, with the promise of bettering yourself and your relationships. The lines about fearing a woman and not a man, fearing the way she looks at you as opposed to broken bones, were so powerful. The ending, promising to make everything right and dedicate your life to her, was beautiful.
Dear author of To My Daughter,
I have read a lot of poems on this website and this one was the one that touched me the most. I was amazed that you were able to share your feelings about your daughter while having an excellent tone and storytelling. The best line was when you said “I have lost so much in search of gain” was so moving. It talks about how you wanted something but lost another thing, which I assume is getting to see your daughter, instead. I was a little confused by the opening lines of “I walk through the day, hidden in disguise.” I was intrigued by the part where you said “Fear of a man? Hell no, Fear of a woman. Well I would say so”. It shows how you feel and the relationship with your daughter. I was not sure if it was a way of saying in prison and nobody knowing your story, or being just another prisoner in a uniform. I liked how in the end you came full circle and ended on a positive note by saying “All my life I dedicate to you. Always know, without a doubt, That I Love You.” This really left it off on a positive note and was a fantastic way to show how you truly felt as a father and what your values were. Overall, this is one of the most powerful and moving pieces of work I have ever read, I wish you and your daughter well.
Thank you
From AC
Wow, that’s really heartfelt. It sounds like you’re expressing deep regret and a strong desire to make things right. The commitment and love in your words are powerful. I hope things get better for you and that you can rebuild that trust.