Deadbeat

"Dad"

When I hear the word “dad”

I don’t see your face

I don’t hear your voice

A broken promise in your place

When I say the word “dad”

I see my mama cry

I watch her wipe tears away

Never explaining why

When I say the word “dad”

No one answers back

No one to call me “son”

Because all you did was pack

In truth, I have no dad

To ever care for me

Because you were never more

Than a deadbeat I’ll never be

Maybe I should thank you

For showing me how to hate

That part of you I can’t extract

All your ugly traits

So, when I think of Father’s Day

I feel bitterness inside

Because whatever love I had for you

Crawled away with you and died.