Dear Dad.

Dear Dad,

Fuck you.

Hahaha.

That's so original.

Did you think that is all I'd have to say? Did you think all my daddy issues disappeared overnight? What kind of poet would I be if I let that happen.

So here it is, daddy. Are you ready?

I was a little girl standing on the step to your semi truck. You were standing next to me while mom took the picture. It's the only thing I want after they put you in the ground.

Because I was a little girl when you threw hot coffee at mom while she pushed me behind her. It still got my arm.

I was a little girl when I remember you yelling from the driveway that you were going to kill mom and you had a lake with her name on it.

I was a child when I hid in that closet of my bedroom with our German Shepherd, Dexter. I squeezed his black fur while I waited for the screaming to stop.

I was a little girl when the cops came to take mom away. Packing small underwear and socks into a blue Winnie-the-Pooh backpack.

I was only a child when I begged mom for us to pack up and leave. She said time will tell, time will tell. What did time tell you?

I was a little girl living with broken dishes, broken glass, bruises, yelling.

Because I was a child when you beat the shit out of my brother. I remember seeing his face so fucked up.

I was a little older when the cops showed up at mom's new house. They wanted to know why I sent those texts to my dad's phone. I told them I learned what a sick human you really were.

I was a young woman when I asked to have dinner with you and my fiance. You said horrible things the whole time and I never saw you again after that. I still looked for you at my wedding.

Now I'm a woman. There is no apology you could give to me. There is nothing you can do to take it back.

I forgive you because there is nothing worse than holding onto that much pain and rage inside me.

Because the little girl I was will rejoice when they put you in the ground. I'll take my picture of us, my soul at peace now that yours longer exists on this earth.