My Father Told Me, Son

Written March 29, 2013


mother. father. always you wrestle inside me

When I was 8 years old
I got a model train set for Christmas
Not a slingshot or BB gun
Instead of going around in circles
I moved it right off the tracks
How it crashed and burned

When I was 12 years old
My father told me "son,
Don't you lose my best rod and reel
Or bend the strings that I strung"
So I jumped in the ocean
Setting these wheels in motion

This could be such a simple song
But how we were wrong

When I hit the big 2-0
I found a delicate flower
In the old junkyard field
I thought I'd give it to momma
But when I brought home that flower
The petals fell off in the shower

Adam's tale ended tragic
And so does this song
When I breathed in the chemicals
And felt so alone
Such a precious regret that they own
That I never had friends in my own home

Life is a horror story
Without a plot twist
My life was a mystery
Where everyone did it
Now were stuck on the precipice
Without a third wish

This could be such a simple song
But how we were wrong
Copyright © | Year Posted 2013

Poem

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