A Face Like Mine

I never knew my father

He left when I was young

They say he was a proud man

As good as they come

He left like all the others

When no work could be found

He smiled and told my mother

I won't let you down

The autumn turned to winter

And the light left her eyes

No footsteps on the front porch

No word of him arrived

A promise torn to pieces

And tossed to the ground

Though at night she grieved him

She never made a sound

I know he had a reason

I know a man can get lost

Whatever he believed in

I know he suffered the cost

His picture's almost faded

But I filled in the lines

And nothing's unforgiven

So father don't you cry

Now the years have found me

With a child of my own

Another generation

That must carry the load

But somewhere there's a memory

In the back of my mind

I see my father smiling

With a face like mine