I WISH I’D KNOWN MY DAD

 

I really wish I’d known my dad at a time before

He had to experience all the sufferings of war

A time when he was still footloose and fancy-free

A time when he was not yet trapped by poverty

I wish I’d know him while he still had his ideals

And life had not ground him beneath its heels

Before he was weighed down by responsibilities

The joys and burdens which come with families

I wish I’d known him before life had made him sad

When he was young and when he was jack the lad

At a time when it was not yet possible to trace

Where life’s hardships had been etched in his face 

I wish I’d known dad when he was young and bold

Before the cancers grip had really taken hold

I wish I’d really known him before his early end

I think I would have liked to have called him friend