He worked the night shift at the plant for seventeen straight years,
He slept from six to two and woke up for the afternoon,
He made the pickup and the dinner and the help with homework tunes,
He did it without drama and without asking for the boon.
The night shift dad who worked the hours nobody wants,
The night shift dad who answered all the morning haunts,
Of children who need breakfast and a parent who is there,
The night shift dad earned every good thing fair.
His wife worked the day side and they ran the overlap,
They traded off the household like a synchronized lap,
They made it work for seventeen years through all the tired,
And the children grew up knowing what their parents required.
He does not talk about the sacrifice because he does not see it,
He just worked the shift that paid the right amount and freed it,
For the life they wanted in the town they chose to live,
The night shift dad has more pride than most could give.