Written by Lolo and titled "Dad," this is a single line, and its power comes from how little it says. The speaker addresses their father directly, as "you," and admits to a long, quiet hunt: they looked for him "in so many men." The poem doesn't say whether he left, died, or was simply emotionally absent. We only know that the speaker wanted something from him and never found it, even in other people.
The feeling here is a mix of longing and disappointment. "So many men" suggests the speaker kept trying, maybe hoping a teacher, a partner, or a stranger might fill the space a father should have filled. The final phrase, "you never were there," is a sharp double meaning. He wasn't in those men, but he may also not have been there for the speaker in life. The mood is bare, sad, and unresolved, and the short length makes the loss feel even heavier.