I will never be half the man as the one who has taken care of me
The one I call dad, one of my heroes he will forever be
I remember hearing the stories my friends would say
Where they would buy gifts for their mothers on Father's Day
Telling me they never met that guy their moms would talk about
Wishing to never cross paths because they had nothing to talk about
The hatred was deep, I can see the effect of a non-existent father figure
Funny, because they learned on their own on how to take care of their own so go figure
I never considered myself lucky until I heard their stories
My pops has always been around doing everything he can for me
Providing like a father should, vowing to do anything he could
Keeping his promise to my mom that he would
They say the main goal is to have your kids be better off than you
He grew up poor and hungry with no opportunity for education
We grew up full and with a play station
I can't lie and say that we weren't poor too, but we had what we needed
At times I'm sure I was ungrateful as a kid, I selfishly wanted more so I pleaded
Stupid of me as a kid to think that I was being cheated
Why couldn't I have more clothes? Why only one pair of shoes and not two?
Pops kept me in line and showed me valuable lessons too
He's as tough as nails but he would give the shirt off his back if he had to
His long working hours being a welder just to put food on the table
Thanking God everyday for his job being stable
Every time he left to work I was afraid we would get a call from a local station
My dad being on the other side of the phone, saying he was stopped by immigration
You see, he basically risked his life while working to provide for us
Had no papers but did it all without a fuss
He's never told me he loves me but I don't need to hear it
With his actions my whole life I can easily see it
So dad, you may never read this but I hope my actions make you proud
Because of what you taught me, I try to stand out from the crowd
Thank you for being the best, and being an example for me to learn
When you retire, just sit back and relax, because it's finally my turn."
