15 Things I Love About You (Happy Birthday)

One

You were
A scowler, a searcher
Always looking into the meanings of things
A quiet curiosity

Two

Your blond hair
As a child
Had a near-blinding luminescence
Angelic

Three

Everybody wants
You as a friend

Four

Your relentless pursuit
To please me
No matter what

Five

Your bowleggedness
When you were a toddler
Yet you could run like hell away from me

Six

Your imagination is
Contagious and fills me
With hope

Seven

You on a playing field
On a court
Is poetry

Eight

Your vain attempts
To quell tears
Trying to be strong
Your quivering bottom lip was a beautiful thing

Nine

Whenever you said
Dad
Your voice was a cure
For everything that ailed me

Ten

People pay you a compliment
When they don't realize I'm your father
And I get goose bumps

Eleven

You still come to me for answers
Even though "I don't know"
Is a more common reply than it used to be

Twelve

You hug me
In front of your friends
And still tell me you love me
When it's time for bed

Thirteen

You're incapable of
Staying angry at me

Fourteen

You still laugh at my
Stupid
Jokes

Fifteen

You make a father
Feel loved