[Voice: WorldPatternz]
## Verse 1
First few years you were there, then became a ghost
Marine corps values, that's what you valued most
Three decades of birthdays, most spent alone
Apparently a parent has to parent their children? That wasn't shown
One, maybe two visits scattered through the years
Building a relationship through absence and fears
I'm 31 now, still waiting for that call
Wondering if in your mind, I exist at all
## Hook
Apparently a parent has to parent their children
But you left that role vacant, that position
Left me questioning what I did wrong in your vision
Apparently a parent has to parent their children
## Verse 2
You wanted me in uniform, following your path
Despite the PTSD that broke you in the aftermath
Pills for depression, nightmares that never cease
Yet pushed me toward a war that stole your peace
CPS case opened, a whole year passed by
Before you even heard about it, didn't even try
To reach out, ask questions, offer support
Apparently a parent has to parent, but yours fell short
## Bridge
Do you think about me when the day grows long?
Do you wonder who I've become, what went wrong?
I still love you, Dad, that will never change
But love without presence feels so strange
## Verse 3
Music became my shelter, my voice, my release
Building something beautiful from this incomplete peace
You wouldn't know about the bars I spit or shit I transpose
The passion that saved me, cuz you chose not to know
I've reached out so many times, tried to build that bridge
But connection requires two sides to eliminate the ridge
Even after everything, I wouldn't want my kids to feel
What it's like to be forgotten, that pain is too real
## Freestyle
Your absence taught lessons words never could
Made me stand on my own when nobody would
Blood ties don't guarantee they'll see you through the storm
Your silence shaped me in ways beyond the norm
Father figure fragmented, just pieces of a man
I built myself from scratch, no blueprint, no plan
Still searching reflections for traces of your face
Wondering which parts of you I shouldn't erase
They say forgiveness heals, but what about the void?
The space where memories should be, but were destroyed
Apparently a parent has to parent, that's the truth that stings
But from broken expectations, my resilience sings
## Outro
Apparently a parent has to parent their children
That's the lesson you taught me in your absence
I'll break this cycle with my own descendance
Never let them question if they're worth my existence
WORLDPATTERNZ
