By Timothy Okurut
What changes when a father is absent from a child’s home? In I Wish I Had a Dad, the speaker imagines a different childhood—one filled with a father’s voice, school routines, evening bicycle rides and family guidance. However, reality tells another story. The speaker must work on the streets, while an older sister struggles through adolescence without the stability the speaker longs for. When she becomes pregnant at sixteen and the father of her baby disappears, the poem’s repeated wish becomes even more painful. It is a child’s reflection on fatherhood, absence, responsibility and the kind of home that might have been.
If I had a dad,
I would wake up to his voice,
smile and wait for his choice.
I would dress up Joyce,
pack her lunch
and run to school.
If I had a dad,
I would ride on my bike
in the evenings with Mike.
We would play soccer
and wait for that hawker
who sells milk to homes.
If I had a dad,
Sissy would report home early
and barely have boyfriends.
She would run and hide
at the sight of your ride,
because she’s not even ready
to call herself a bride!
Now I don’t have a dad.
You decide
to be good or bad.
You study on the ridge
of falling out.
The food you eat
is what you eat
because you can’t do without.
Sissy reports home so late.
At times,
she eats not of our plate.
She’s just sixteen,
but behaves as though
she were that lady
selling at the teen.
Daddy never saw her dress!
She’s dressed to impress
the lustful eyes of strangers.
Home is the best,
but our home
is not in the West!
I have to run
in the streets hawking,
just to silence
their talking.
I wish I had a dad
to walk in!
Sissy is now pregnant.
The moon
has finally set.
Wolves howl no more,
I bet.
The insistent quiet voices
have faded.
The man by whom
the baby was made
has run away!
She’s now here to stay!
For that is nature’s final act—
the cold touch
of bitter fact!
— Timothy Okurut
Power of the word. What a good read
It’s a nyc one keep it up
Ohh such a wonderful piece ❤️
Every expression ohh dia
This is a beautiful piece of art, ser
This is a piece that echoes in my head even after reading. The delivery is so good. Totally relatable and worth reflecting on.
This thing is stuck in my head❤️
The art is so soul touching, keep it up gal
Absent fathers always leave behind life long disappointments. It’s every man’s duty to shape a child’s future moreso “her”.
I wish I had a Dad , it hits different lt just caught me crying.
As a big sister you have to make sure that expenses are covered.
You have to hold tears so that your siblings won’t see.
I love this magazine. It has wonderful poets who talk about the world beyond the world.
“I love the imagery in this , it feels so vivid and real”.
Poem is so torching, it’s based on what happens in society.
Thank you Fasihi Magazine for the opportunity to express.
It’s so eye catching and sweet