A Letter of Love from a Daughter's Perspective

​Because He was My Daddy
                                                 
                                                 
Because He was My Daddy,
I shall miss him most –
                                                                                                                                                                  
                His smile, his hands, his wisdom
                That fed, first, his family.
 
Because He was My Daddy,
        I shall miss his whispers –
 
                That breathed encouragement, pride,
and perseverance
                That fueled my passion to be
                                The best that I could be
                                At all times - for Him. 
 
Because He was My Daddy,
        I shared him with others –                                
                                                                                                    
                And watched with awe                               
                                As he fed others and loved others, completely
                                But not the same as He loved me.
 
                With a God-inspired love and grace
                                That oozed from his pores and                                                                       
                                Fell into the empty spaces
                                Of your heart.
 
Because He was My Daddy
        I could see the love in his eyes –
 
                That came straight from his soul –
                Pure and untainted by the
                Arrows by day and the groans by night
                That often chased him.
 
And, because He was My Daddy
I saw when he grew tired -
 
                Weary on life’s journey,
                A journey on which he labored
                With the Love of God and a Warrior’s Spirit.                                                                                  
 
From health to ill-health
                He carried God’s torch;
From way to no way,
                He ran life’s race;
And from can to can’t
                He finished with grace.
 
Now gone to be with God
                His joy is fulfilled –
 
His thunderous voice now bellows
                With the heavenly host.
 
And because He was My Daddy,
          I   shall miss him most.
 
Vernet Clemons Nettles
October 31, 2016

Written in honor of the perspective of the daughter of Rev. J. W McDaniel, Jr.