An Unrequited Love

By Preetham Halwi

An ode to father.

One day, a man drew me close to his chest,

A cradle of warmth, of love manifest,

To strangers, he was simple, quietly known—

But in my eyes, he stood alone.

A warrior not forged of sword or flame,

But of sacrifice, and love without name,

He smiled through storms, wore patience with pride,

And carried the weight of the world inside.

He greeted life with humble grace,

With calloused hands and a sun-worn face,

His laughter echoed like springtime rain,

Yet bore the silence of hidden pain.

When the winters came sharp and cold,

He stood unshaken, quiet and bold,

Never once did he break his vow—

To lift me higher, no matter how,

He gave and gave, never keeping score,

He built my dreams from fractured stone,

When he left his own to lie unknown.

What crueller sight could heaven send,

Then watching him break, so I might mend?

To see him starve that I might eat,

To wear thin shoes and bare my feet.

Even in weariness, never a sigh—

Just quiet love in a tearless eye,

A man of few words, but boundless grace,

With every act, he took my place.

And yet—

He never faltered, never let go,

A river of strength in constant flow,

Now grown, I see—how blind I’d been—

His love: the loudest it had ever been.

The unspoken, unmatched, unrequited love,

That woke so I could sleep,

Unpaid, unasked, a gift so true—

The kind of love I never knew I knew.

By Preetham Halwi