To Those Of You Looking For The Poem Entitled

"The Fireman's Daughter"

A Note From Wren.......

I have learned that the version of the poem that occupied this page was not in it's original copyrighted form.  It had been altered by someone who hopes to profit from the 9-11 tragedy by adding a verse that referenced that dreadful day and renaming it Ella's Fragrant Rose. I have removed the plagiarized version, and invite you to view this beautiful poem, entitled "Daddy's Day",  as it was originally written by Cheryl Costello-Forshey.   Cheryl's work is often published in the "Chicken Soup For..." series of books.  You may view "Daddy's Day" by clicking right HERE ... Or at the link at the bottom of this page.  Thank you, Cheryl, for allowing me to use your lovely poem in WrensWorld.  You are appreciated!!

The following is a letter written To You from Cheryl Costello-Forshey, the author of "Daddy's Day".  I ask you to please read it, then help rectify an injustice to this exceptional author by sending it to your friends.  If you need to contact Cheryl in regards to using her poem, you may do so HERE.
Thank you and God Bless....Wren.

Dear Readers:

I need your help . . .

There is a special little girl that I know who woke up one morning believing that her daddy would come home from work at the end of the day just as he’d always done. Sadly, that would never happen, and that little girl’s daddy would never be home again. He wasn’t a fireman, and he didn’t lose his life during the 9/11 tragedy of 2001, his death occurred long before that time, but he was no less heroic to that little girl, and his death was no less painful to her. It was because of that little girl’s deep love for her daddy, and her unwavering faith that his life continued on in heaven, that inspired me to write, "Daddy’s Day". It has nothing to do with the September tragedy of 2001, and that is why I need your help.

Someone, a man who shall remain nameless because his name does not deserve to be mentioned, has added lines to my poem, "Daddy’s Day", lines regarding the 9/11 tragedy. My heart aches tremendously for all those orphaned children of 9/11, but the plagiarized version of my poem refers to a fireman who lost his life on that tragic September day. "Daddy’s Day" (although written because of one little girl) was written for all the children who’d ever lost a daddy, not exclusively to the children of firemen. And one man, by infringing upon my rights and adding those lines, has taken something from me, taken something from one special little girl, and from all the children that "Daddy’s Day" was written for; children of teachers, salesmen, factory and construction workers, etc., and yes . . .  children of firemen.

The man, who has tried claiming my poem as his own, felt justified in doing so because he’d found my poem displayed on the Internet as "author unknown". "Daddy’s Day" is protected under the copyright laws, and it does not fall under public domain no matter how many times it is passed around without my name attached. But that didn’t stop one man from claiming, "Daddy’s Day" as his own, or from altering my poem with lines pertaining to 9/11. I wasn’t even aware of this man’s existence until a few days ago, and unfortunately, he wasn’t the first to plagiarize my poem, and sadly, he probably won’t be the last. That is why it is extremely important to never display, copy, or circulate any material without the author’s name attached.

I learned from a journalist, who’d received "Daddy’s Day – author unknown" in an e-mail, that by typing in a line from my poem within quotation marks into the google.com search engine that she was able to track the author’s name (myself) down within four seconds. She made me aware that over four hundred sites were displaying, "Daddy’s Day", the majority without my name attached, and numerous of those sites were using various titles. It was from one of those sites that undoubtedly, those who have plagiarized my work viewed or received, "Daddy’s Day", and the door was left wide open for them to willingly claim my work as their own. Normally in the past, it has been fairly easy eliminating the damage of plagiarists, but this latest plagiarist has caused tremendous problems for me, and I could really use your help in getting his version of my poem off the Internet once and for all. I know that it won’t be easy. I know that in all likelihood that it’s probably impossible, but it’s something that I have to at least try to do.

I myself have found over 150 sites displaying the 9/11 version (there may be more). Of course, that doesn’t include the other sites displaying my poem without my name attached. Contacting all of those hundreds of sites will be a monumental task, but I’m hoping that some of you will be willing to help me with that task. By allowing the 9/11 version to remain, I’d be condoning the act of plagiarism, as well as copyright infringement, and by not getting my name rightfully on my work, the door will continue to be left open for more plagiarists. Unfortunately, some may even profit from my work without my knowledge. I’ve already been made aware of at least two newspapers that have published my poem as "author unknown". Those newspapers made no attempt to find me; it would have been easy enough to do, but I suppose it was easier to do the wrong thing rather than the right thing.

Will you please help me in getting the plagiarized version of my poem removed from the Internet? Will you please help me in contacting the sites that are displaying the correct version of my poem, but without my name attached, or perhaps under a wrong title? I know it’s a lot to ask, but your help would mean so much, not only to myself, but also to one very special little girl.

If you’d like to help, you can find the sites displaying the 9/11 version of my poem by typing into the google.com search engine the line, "You see he was a fireman and died just this past year".

To find the sites displaying the correct version of my poem, but without my name attached; you would need to type into the google.com search engine, a line from my poem such as, "Today was daddy’s day at school".

For all of those who are willing to help, thank you and may God bless you tremendously. For those that can’t . . . I completely understand.

Hugs and much happiness,

Cheryl Costello-Forshey

Author of, Daddy’s Day©2000