THE MAN HE NEVER WAS
He saw the way his Dad
came home drunk every night
how Mom was scared and crying
after each and every fight
He saw his older sister
getting knocked 'round by him too
But he was so young back then
wasn't much that he could do
He held their hands as they wept
and listened to all they said
The sadness in his heart for them
burned deep inside his head
He grew up knowing it was wrong
what Dad did to the family
each day he reminded himself of
the man he would not be
As he grew he did his best
at everything he did
soon he was a grown man
not a frightened little kid
Back from a tour in the army
he wanted to visit his Mom
That's when his older sister
told him what went wrong
Seems Dad came home again
drunk and half out of his mind
when his anger once more flared
he thought Mom would do just fine
But Mom had had enough
of what Dad was always dealing
She pulled the trigger and Dad's head
went all over the ceiling
Now he see's her every Sunday
like a good son always does
and she tells him she is thankful of
the man he never was
Posted for http://onestoppoetry.com/2011/03/one-shot-poetry-wednesday-celebrating-our-36th-week.html#comment-7045
