i don’t see my father in the mirror
don’t hear his blood in the slurp of my heart
he’s gone dead from lung cancer age 68
he used to send me to the store
for cigarettes marlboro hard pack let me keep the change
it’s doubtful the cigarettes i bought him
are the ones that did him in
but surely they must be like me
accessories to the crime
i never asked for his death
i hoped he’d get better
get sober get sane dowse the fire
in his eyes that flared too easily
and scorched everything he saw
please make him better
god please make him better i said
and 55 years later he quit completely
