Don't Leave Daddy

Don’t leave daddy

Is what she says

Almost every night

When it is time for me to leave

When I have read the last book and

Sung the last song and

She has sipped the last sip of milk or

Water

She asks me not to leave

She asks me to stay and sleep up in her room

Sometimes she clutches my arm

In an almost serious attempt to get me to stay

Every time I try to insert a mental post it note

Marking that moment

So that later

I can come back to it and

Remember it and

Hear that little voice saying

Don’t leave daddy