For some, writing a poem comes as natural as breathing – emotions put into words, strung into lines, made to rhyme or not…it’s beautiful!

For the rest of us, well, it might as well be rocket science. But everyone enjoys a heartfelt moment, and even though these may not be your words, they’re still coming from you and show how you feel. So here are some of the best father poems that you can write down on a card or read out loud in front of your dad, to tell him how much he means to you.

It doesn’t matter how you’re going to deliver them – picking any of these father poems will definitely melt your dad’s heart.

Father Poems

1. To My Father
by Kaylee Kowch

There was a time
When not so long ago
A newborn had cried her first tear
As she entered into a strange new world.

A man held her with a certain strength,
As tears of confusion ran down the newborn’s face.
He knew in his heart this girl was special,
And with that he vowed to give this child a place in his heart.

As time went by,
The girl began to grow.
She had learned to talk
And she learned how to walk.

With each step the girl took,
The man had been by her side,
To guide her when she didn’t know where to go,
To comfort her whenever she fell.

His mission every day
Was to make this girl smile,
To hear her young, innocent laugh,
To make her giggle.

More years had come and gone
As the girl was in her first year of middle school.
There were days where she would come home with tears in her eyes,
That would send a sad, cold knife through the man’s heart.

He would sit there and console her for as long as needed
And had wiped salty tears from her cheek
As he told her that it would be okay,
That it wasn’t the end of the world.

There were times when she walked through the door with an evil frown,
As she spat cruel words of anger towards the man she loved.
Never did the man love her any less in hearing her words,
But did scold her in hopes that she would learn.

Time went on,
And it was the girl’s middle school graduation.
As she and her fellow classmates wore caps and gowns,
The man and his wonderful wife were watching with pride.

Never had the two been so proud,
As when the girl went up to accept her award.
Standing there with the girl in the lens of a camera,
He snapped multiple pictures to cherish the moment.

The man had been with the girl through thick and thin,
Through bloody cuts and ugly bruises,
Through smiles and tears,
Through screams of anger and shrieks of laughter.

This man had not only kept his vow to that newborn,
But did so much more.
Only a man like him could give his love
So unselfishly.

That is why he is not only an amazing father,
But also the most amazing friend I could ever ask for.

2. Only A Dad
by Edgar Guest

Only a dad, with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame,
To show how well he has played the game,
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad, with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more.
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent, whenever the harsh condemn, 
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad, but he gives his all
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing, with courage stern and grim,
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen,
Only a dad, but the best of men.

3. Family Circle
by Melissa G. Nicks

When I am born, you are here,
In your eye, I see a tear.
Time flies and already I’m two
“Look, Daddy, I can tie my shoe!”

Before you know it, I’m five,
Every day you thank God I’m alive.
Pretty soon, I turn eight,
You tell me I’m never allowed to date

I’m already twelve in my preteen years
Which means you’ll help me with all my new fears.
Now fourteen with my permit to drive,
Waiting to hit the big one-five

Too early comes sixteen, with my license now
It went by too fast, you just ask how.

You want to meet my boyfriend when I’m eighteen,
I pray to God that you’re not too mean.
The same guy two years later asks for my hand
I’m relieved when you say “that’s just grand!”

About a year later, you walk me down the aisle
Through all the tears, you bare a smile.
Three years later, you’re gonna be a grandfather,
You show love and pride for your new granddaughter.

Another year down the road
Mom dies, oh the many tears that flowed.
You’re not doing so well without her,
Less than a year later, you forgot all about her.

Alzheimer’s sets in and it scares me so,
Not long after, you decide to go.
Now I’m regretting not saying goodbye
Every time I think about it, I start to cry.

The cycle has begun again,
It has started over with little Megan.
The other day, she turned two
And said, “Look, daddy, I can tie my shoe!”

4. My Father, My Friend
by Peggy Stewart

For my father, my friend,
This to me you have always been.
Through the good times and the bad,
Your understanding I have had.
A gentleman at heart,
This sets you apart
From the others I’ve seen.
You mean so much to me.
The laughter we have shared
Cannot be compared.
The tears I have shed,
As you lovingly nodded your head.
You have always been there,
With a smile and a hug,
A precious gift from our God up above.
The times that I have been down and sad,
Your silly ways could always make me glad.
You gave me the strength to carry on,
Even when all hope seemed to be gone.
The lessons in life that I have learned
Are from your genuine love and concern.
With deep appreciation for all you have done.
You, Dad,
Are my number one.
With all my love, Your Daughter, Your Friend.

Check out these Father Daughter Poems.

5. Tears In My Daddy’s Eyes
by Unknown Mystery

He was always my pillar when I knew I’d fall,
Always my anchor, so strong and tall.
His hard face changes only for me,
His softer side, so careless and free.
He knows my dreams are too big for this place,
His little girl’s leaving, ready to begin her race.
He knows I’ll be thinking of him wherever I go,
I know I’m ready to do this on my own.
But still I cry and he holds me tight,
He tries to be strong, not a tear in sight.
I’m ready to reach for the stars in the sky,
He’s ready to watch his princess fly.
It’s time to let go, sure of a path to take,
But now I know, even pillars can break.
For when I drive away, trying to stifle my cries,
All I could see were tears in my father’s eyes.

6. My Dad
by Vicky Frye

If I could write a story,
It would be the greatest ever told.
I’d write about my daddy,
For he had a heart of gold.
My dad, he was no hero
Known around this world.
He was everything to me,
For I was his baby girl.
I’d write about the lessons.
He taught me right from wrong.
He instilled in me the values
That one day I’d be strong.
He taught me to face my fears,
Take each day as it comes,
For there are things that we can’t change,
He would say what’s done is done.
He would say hold your head up high,
Carry yourself with pride.
Thanks to him, I am somebody,
I will never run and hide.
If I could write a story,
It would be the greatest ever told.
I’d write about my daddy,
For he had a heart of gold.

7. On my First Son
by Ben Jonson

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sin was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.
Seven years tho’ wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I lose all father now! For why
Will man lament the state he should envy?
To have so soon ‘scap’d world’s and flesh’s rage,
And if no other misery, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say, “Here doth lie
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry“.
For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.

8. Life Lessons
by Joanna Fuchs

You may have thought I didn’t see,
Or that I hadn’t heard,
Life lessons that you taught to me,
But I got every word.

Perhaps you thought I missed it all,
And that we’d grow apart,
But Dad, I picked up everything,
It’s written on my heart.

Without you, Dad, I wouldn’t be
The person I am today;
You built a strong foundation
No one can take away.

I’ve grown up with your values,
And I’m very glad I did;
So here’s to you, dear father,
From your forever grateful kid.

9. Star Dad
by Karl Fuchs

I love you, Dad, and want you to know,
I feel your love wherever I go.
Whenever I’ve problems, you’re there to assist,
The ways you have helped me would make quite a list.

Your wisdom and knowledge have shown me the way,
And I’m thankful for you as I live day by day.
I don’t tell you enough how important you are,
In my universe, you’re a bright shining star.

10. I’m Happy You’re My Dad
by Joanna Fuchs

I feel safe when you are with me;
You show me fun things to do;
You make my life much better;
The best father I know is you.

I’m happy you’re my Dad
And so I want to say
“I love you, Dad“, and wish you
A Happy Father’s Day!

11. If Everyone Had a Father Like You
by Karl Fuchs

If everyone had a father
Who was more like you,
There’d be more laughing, joy, and singing;
Fewer people would be blue.

There’d be much more understanding;
Crime and hate could not prevail.
We’d all be so contented,
We wouldn’t need a jail.

If everyone had a father
Who was more like you,
The whole world would be blessed,
Just as I am blessed with you.

12. Dressing My Daughters
by Mark Jarman

One girl a full head taller
Than the other—into their Sunday dresses.
First, the slip, hardly a piece of fabric,
Softly stitched and printed with a bud.
I’m not their mother, and tangle, then untangle
The whole cloth—on backward, have to grab it
Round their necks. But they know how to pull
Arms in, a reflex of being dressed,
And also, a child’s faith. The mass of stuff
That makes the Sunday frocks collapses
In my hands and finds its shape, only because
They understand the drape of it—
These skinny keys to intricate locks.
The buttons are a problem
For a surgeon. How would she connect
These bony valves and stubborn eyelets?
The filmy dress revolves in my blind fingers.
The slots work one by one.
And when they’re put together,
Not like puppets or those doll-saints
That bring tears to true believers,
But living children, somebody’s real daughters,
They do become more real.
They say “Stop it!” and “Give it back!”
And “I don’t want to!”. They’ll kiss
A doll’s hard features, whispering,
“I’m sorry”. I know just why my mother
Used to worry. Your clothes don’t keep
You close—it’s nakedness.
Clad in my boots and holster,
I would roam with my six-gun buddies.
We dealt fake death to one another,
Fell and rolled in filth and rose,
Grimy with wounds, then headed home.
But Sunday… what was that tired explanation
Given for wearing clothes that
Scratched and shone and weighed like a slow hour?
That we should shine—in gratitude.
So, I give that explanation, undressing them,
And wait for the result.
After a day like Sunday, such a long one,
When they lie down, half-dead,
To be undone, they won’t help me.
They cry, “It’s not my fault.”

13. The Perfect Father
by Karl Fuchs

I love you because you’re my father,
But you’re really so much more;
You’re a guide and a companion;
You and I have a great rapport.

You pay attention to me;
You listen to what I say.
You pass on words of wisdom,
Helping me along the way.

Whenever I’m in trouble,
You always have a plan.
You are the perfect father,
And I’m your biggest fan.

14. Father Death Blues

by Allen Ginsberg

Hey Father Death, I’m flying home
Hey poor man, you’re all alone
Hey old daddy, I know where I’m going

Father Death, Don’t cry any more
Mama’s there, underneath the floor
Brother Death, please mind the store

Old Aunty Death Don’t hide your bones
Old Uncle Death I hear your groans
O Sister Death how sweet your moans

O Children Deaths go breathe your breaths
Sobbing breasts’ll ease your Deaths
Pain is gone, tears take the rest

Genius Death your art is done
Lover Death your body’s gone
Father Death I’m coming home

Guru Death your words are true
Teacher Death I do thank you
For inspiring me to sing this Blues

Buddha Death, I wake with you
Dharma Death, your mind is new
Sangha Death, we’ll work it through

Suffering is what was born
Ignorance made me forlorn
Tearful truths I cannot scorn

Father Breath once more farewell
Birth you gave was nothing ill
My heart is still, as time will tell.

15. As We Look Back
by Clare Jones

As we look back over time
We find ourselves wondering…
Did we remember to thank you enough
For all you have done for us?
For all the times you were by our sides
To help and support us…
To celebrate our successes,
To understand our problems
And accept our defeats?
Or for teaching us by your example,
The value of hard work, good judgment,
Courage and integrity?
We wonder if we ever thanked you
For the sacrifices you made.
To let us have the very best?
And for the simple things
Like laughter, smiles and times we shared?
If we have forgotten to show our
Gratitude enough for all the things you did,
We’re thanking you now.
And we are hoping you knew all along,
How much you meant to us.

16. My Father’s Hats
by Mark Irwin

Sunday mornings I would reach
high into his dark closet while standing
on a chair and tiptoeing reach
higher, touching, sometimes fumbling
the soft crowns and imagine
I was in a forest, wind hymning

through pines, where the musky scent
of rain clinging to damp earth was
his scent I loved, lingering on
bands, leather, and on the inner silk
crowns where I would smell his
hair and almost think I was being
held, or climbing a tree, touching
the yellow fruit, leaves whose scent
was that of a clove in the godsome
air, as now, thinking of his fabulous
sleep, I stand on this canyon floor
and watch light slowly close
on the water I’m not sure is there.

17. Inventing Father In Las Vegas
by Lynn Emanuel

If I could see nothing but the smoke
From the tip of his cigar, I would know everything
About the years before the war.
If his face were halved by shadow I would know
This was a street where an EATS sign trembled
And a Greek served coffee black as a dog’s eye.
If I could see nothing but his wrist I would know
About the slot machine and I could reconstruct
The weak chin and ruin of his youth, the summer
My father was a gypsy with oiled hair sleeping
In a Murphy bed and practicing clairvoyance.
I could fill his vast Packard with showgirls
And keep him forever among the difficult buttons
Of the bodice, among the rustling of their names,
Miss Christina, Miss Lorraine.
I could put his money in my pocket
and wearing memory’s black fedora
With the condoms hidden in the hatband
The damp cigar between my teeth,
I could become the young man who always got sentimental
About London, especially in Las Vegas with its single bridge­-
So ridiculously tender–leaning across the river
To watch the starlight’s soft explosions.
If I could trace the two veins that crossed
His temple, I would know what drove him
To this godforsaken place, I would keep him forever
Remote from war–like the come-hither tip of his lit cigar
Or the harvest moon, that gold planet, remote and pure
 American.

Check out these Father Son Poems.

18. Yesterday
by W. S. Merwin

My friend says I was not a good son
you understand
I say yes I understand

he says I did not go
to see my parents very often you know
and I say yes I know

even when I was living in the same city he says
maybe I would go there once
a month or maybe even less
I say oh yes

he says the last time I went to see my father
I say the last time I saw my father

he says the last time I saw my father
he was asking me about my life
how I was making out and he
went into the next room
to get something to give me

oh I say
feeling again the cold
of my father’s hand the last time
he says and my father turned
in the doorway and saw me
look at my wristwatch and he
said you know I would like you to stay
and talk with me

oh yes I say

but if you are busy he said
I don’t want you to feel that you
have to
just because I’m here

I say nothing

he says my father
said maybe
you have important work you are doing
or maybe you should be seeing
somebody I don’t want to keep you

I look out the window
my friend is older than I am
he says and I told my father it was so
and I got up and left him then
you know

though there was nowhere I had to go
and nothing I had to do

19. To My Father
by Georgia Harkness

A giant pine, magnificent and old
Stood staunch against the sky and all around
Shed beauty, grace, and power.
Within its fold birds safely reared their young.
The velvet ground beneath was gentle,
and the cooling shade gave cheer to passers-by.
Its towering arms a landmark stood, erect and unafraid
As if to say “Fear naught from life’s alarms”.

It fell one day.
Where it had dauntless stood was loneliness and void.
But men who passed paid tribute – and said,
“To know this life was good,
It left its mark on me. Its work stands fast”.
And so it lives. Such life no bonds can hold –
This giant pine, magnificent and old.

20. Father’s Song
by Gregory Orr

Yesterday, against admonishment,
my daughter balanced on the couch back,
fell and cut her mouth.

Because I saw it happen I knew
she was not hurt, and yet
a child’s blood so red
it stops a father’s heart.

My daughter cried her tears;
I held some ice
against her lip.
That was the end of it.

Round and round: bow and kiss.
I try to teach her caution;
she tries to teach me risk.

21. My Father on His Shield
by Walt McDonald

Shiny as wax, the cracked veneer Scotch-taped
and brittle. I can’t bring my father back.
Legs crossed, he sits there brash

with a private’s stripe, a world away
from the war they would ship him to
within days. Cannons flank his face

and banners above him like the flag
my mother kept on the mantel, folded tight,
white stars sharp-pointed on a field of blue.

I remember his fists, the iron he pounded,
five-pound hammer ringing steel,
the frame he made for a sled that winter

before the war.  I remember the rope in his fist
around my chest, his other fist
shoving the snow, and downhill we dived,

his boots by my boots on the tongue,
pines whishing by, ice in my eyes, blinking
and squealing.  I remember the troop train,

steam billowing like a smoke screen.
I remember wrecking the sled weeks later
and pounding to beat the iron flat,

but it stayed there bent
and stacked in the barn by the anvil,
and I can’t bring him back.