A POEM BY R. STEPHEN
Dear Father, I see there’s no sun in the sky.
This season should grant it; I must ask you why.
Your message is unclear; you tell me it’s there.
That these grey clouds block it; it’s really not fair.
Your words ignite thought, I can now redefine.
I know what to do: I must find my sunshine.
About This Poem
My Sunshine: A Moment That Stayed With Me
I wrote My Sunshine after a simple, beautiful exchange with my daughter on the way to nursery. She has never called me “father”, which is exactly why the poem opens with that voice. I wanted it to feel like a child trying to make sense of the world, asking why the sky looks wrong, why the sun has disappeared, why the season is not behaving the way she expects.
The real moment was small. She asked where the sunshine had gone. I told her it was hiding behind the clouds. She paused, thought, and said, “I find my sunshine.” That line has echoed in me ever since. It carried innocence, determination, curiosity and something strangely profound. The poem is my attempt to honour that feeling without turning it into one of those exaggerated “my kid said the wildest thing” stories you see online. This was real, and it meant something.
The poem leans into her voice, her logic, her ability to redefine the world with a single sentence. It is about a child discovering agency, and about a parent quietly watching that spark take shape.
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