Eternal Delay

Rosie dressed her children up that day
Dressed them to a tee
Freshly scrubbed and clean and kempt
And sweet as they could be.

Off they went to the station
Washed in camouflage and green
All the reunited lovers
All the years that it had been.

It would be a special day
He would say, “You got so tall.”
For Emma hadn’t seen her father in 3 years
And Charlotte not at all.

And on and on the three would wait
But his face they did not see
Rosie decided to play a game
She called it ‘Where’s Daddy?’

She felt their soft warm hands in hers
And told her self not to fear
Surely he would be there soon
He had to be somewhere.

But as minutes turned to hours
Her spirits would soon fall
And still she could not believe
He would not appear at all.

The crowd had finally thinned to naught
And the train pulled from the station
And by and by the broken family stood
Still waiting.