Daughter Of A Distant Man

You were there in the photos

But not in the room

Your boots by the front door

Your voice like another tune

You taught me to be quiet

You taught me to be tough

But you never said "I'm proud of you"

Never showed me what was enough

So I traced my name

On the fogged-up glass

Wishing it was your hand

Holding mine back

I'm the daughter of a distant man

Learning love from strangers' hands

Giving pieces just to feel

Like somebody thinks I'm real

Every "stay" turns into "leave"

Every promise

I believe

Chasing what I never had

Daughter of a distant man

Met a boy in a blue car

He said all the perfect things

I mistook his hunger

For a wedding ring

Turned my body to a question

Asked him

"Am I worth the wait?"

He answered with a goodbye

Left me talking to the ache

So I trace my scars

Like a folded map

Every road I took

Led me right back

I’ve been begging every echo

To say what you never said

Building homes in broken hearts

Then moving out of my own head

But I'm learning how to hold me

Like you never held my hand

Teaching myself to love

What you never tried to understand