STIL - Sacrificial Lyrics

Cracked and rough hands
Bruised knuckles
The results of years turning wrenches
Grease-stained clothes from
Time spent under too many vehicles to count
Over the years overtime meant less time
Spent with family
But it was necessary
To provide,
Through those rough times
But now
His people find
He has more time to give,
More time to live,
With them, not just for them.
Three states in a single day
A lonely hotel room far away
From his high school sweetheart
And four children that bring him joy
Kissing their photo,
He drifts off to sleep
He'll dream of his flight back home.
Scarred skin & burnt hands
Callouses on callouses
Gifts from his trade
Aching back from many months
Hunched over a blowpipe
Measuring and fitting pipes,
Welding and setting aside
His desires
To save for
His kids' private schooling
In the grocery store or on walks in the park
His neck is on a swivel
Eyes alert
A quick nod
To another man, in passing
Is all the time needed for a serious conversation,
In which he says just two things
One: I see you bro, I hope you're doing well
Two: I will throw down to protect mine as I know you would too.
To his daughter
He is the ultimate example
Of how boys should treat her
He is the punisher, should they step out of line
To his son
He is the one who sets the guardrails
He had better not cross
He is the one
Who will, one day, hand him the torch of manhood
Happily, he has Sacrificed
Never complaining
Silently he has kept watch
Securing the borders at home
Gladly he has delayed his own wants
To bestow what they need
This is the love of real men
This is the love of fathers
May we never forget and
May we never neglect to let them know
We see them.
Much love daddy, Jah Bless