What makes a dad a dad?
it’s a guy who says he doesn’t want a life that’s sad
A man who desires to make his family glad
And to give to them all he has or has ever had
To make sure, in this world gone mad
That they will be safe and sound and ironclad
As Fort Knox, as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
Against all dangers, or anyone contemptible or bad,
wanted by the Mossad
Acting as the laws of God and man forbad.
What makes a dad a dad
And not a loser or a deadbeat dad?
Is it the advantages he had?
(Not entirely, but then maybe just a tad)
Wherever he grew up, pueblo or ciudad
His urge to be a good future great-grandad
To take that child of his from just a tad
Giving good counsel to that young gal or lad.
And raise them all the way to their launching pad,
to a successful happy life, the kind you see in ads.

Sure, he’s imperfect, not like some Galahad,
He will work until his face turns plaid
(The kind of face you’d like to capture with a Hasselblad)
So that his children don’t go bad,
So that they’ll turn out decent, bright, not drab,
And disciplines them not with an iron hand
not cruelly like some impaling Vlad
(Or like Vladimir Putin, that rootin’ tooting mad
Politburo dude no one’s disputes with, lest they want to risk an enfilade)
But always with kindness and love to beat the band.

What makes a dad a dad?
What more could we add?
A guy who’s the best friend a mom could have
Even if she never even heats a pan,
Or drops her veils like some Scheherezade,
A man who builds a life with her based on a gentle dream they had,
Con cariño, y con amistad.
And whose dedication isn’t just a passing fad
But reliable, not like a Florida dangling chad

Who is this ideal, proper dad?
A man celebrated across every land
From Texas to Islamabad,
From Idaho to Leningrad,
From Monaco to Trinidad,
His kind will always be in high demand
How empty it would be, how bleak and sad
Without him in our lives, our dad.