The Best Poem a Dad Will Ever Read

My wife gave me a poem. I placed it high on a wall in my office to always remind me of what is important in life. You would do well to do likewise.

I would rather be the daddy
of a romping, roguish crew
Of a bright-eyed chubby buddy
and a little girl or two
Than the monarch of a nation,
In his high and lofty seat
Taking empty adoration
From the subjects at his feet
I would rather own their kisses, 
as at night to me they run,
Than to be the king who misses
all the simpler forms of fun.
When his dreary day is ending
He is dismally alone, 
but when my sun is descending
There are joys for me to own.
He may ride to horns and drumming
I must walk a quiet street
But when once they see me coming, 
then on joyous, flying feet,
They come racing to me madly
And I catch them with a swing,
And I say it proudly, gladly
That I’m happier than a king
You may talk of lofty places,
You may boast of pomp and power;
Men may turn their eager faces
To the glory of an hour, 
But give me the humble station
With it’s joys that long survive,
For the daddies of the nation
Are the happiest men alive

Edgar A. Guest