A little packet arrived <br />Tied with a black ribbon <br />An ominous sign it bore <br />The name and address <br />Was almost illegible <br />Yet the young girl <br />Accepted it happily <br />Assuming that it <br />Was a birthday gift <br />From her missing Dad <br /> <br />He had been gone <br />Mysteriously for <br />A very long time <br />And her Mom had <br />Not offered any <br />Kind of explanation <br />She just refused <br />To talk about him <br />Leaving the little <br />Child bewildered <br /> <br />Not waiting for her <br />Mother to return <br />She carefully untied <br />The black ribbon <br />Unwrapped the <br />Brown paper <br />To find a little <br />Black box and in it <br />Was a tiny locket <br />Pinned to an untidy note <br /> <br />But before she could <br />Open it there was <br />A knock on the door <br />The courier man <br />Completely shaken <br />Had returned <br />The box was not <br />Meant to be delivered <br />To her but handed over <br />Only to her Mother <br /> <br />The little girl refused <br />To return the box <br />She gripped it firmly <br />And screamed aloud <br />That it was a present <br />From her dear Dad <br />He had never <br />Forgotten her birthday <br />So it just had <br />To be for her <br /> <br />The Drama continued <br />Until her Mother <br />Returned home <br />And took the parcel <br />Now it was her turn <br />To cry out aloud <br />The locket contained <br />No picture, just a few <br />Drops of what looked <br />Like dried blood <br /> <br />The scribbled note read <br />“By the time this <br />Reaches you <br />I will be dead <br />Ensure that <br />Our little girl <br />Knows nothing <br />And remembers me <br />Always as her dear <br />And loving Daddy”<br /><br />Sandra Martyres<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/black-ribbon-2/
