YAYA DEL MARI

I wasn't your father,

but for a brief time in our lives

you were my daughter.

Did you lack for anything?

Didn't I devote many hours to you?

Didn't I impart good advice to you,

particularly regarding the art of tipping?

When you smash a winner down the line,

do you remember who taught you tennis?

Did I ask for anything in return?

No. Nothing.

To hear you call me "Daddy-O"

with a warmth that welled from your heart

more than recompensed my love for you.