a Message to My Father

I can hear everything The sound of your laughs, the sound of your cries The tone of your voice, the constant, bittersweet goodbyes You think that you’re helping me by leading me astray? No sir, you’re not this home is where I’ll stay I have dreams, goals, and aspirations too And no, that does not include me running away with you You think that your problems won’t follow you once you leave? Oh father, life doesn’t work quite like you perceive There are men with badges far more powerful than you Better pray you can outrun them, or here comes your prison debut Don’t get the wrong idea father, I love you still But the fact of the matter is, there’s a void in me that you can’t fulfill So go ahead, run like you always do But I can’t wait much longer for you to come through I’ve waited patiently on that stoop day-in and day-out But waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought