He looks up at me from his death bed
Eyes glazed over, mouth moving like he has something to say
I lean my ear closer
Listening quietly, gasping, whimpering, nothing more
A cough escapes his cracked and bloody lips
Tongue darts out, running dry against his cold, bruised flesh
He bites down, the pain contorting his once youthful face
Now nothing more then an old decaying man
“A long time ago you were our father”
“But morals you lacked in this life”
“You ripped out our hearts long ago” I tell him
“You never listened to anyone”
“You did what you wanted, now look at you” I whisper
Leaning down
I plant the kiss of death upon his cheek
I crawl into his bed like a child
Wrapping his cold, failing body in my arms
Leaning my cheek to his, bidding him goodbye
Fatherless child, tortured woman
Gone now, my childhood, my agony
The pain is real, though I cannot feel it
The tears that fall are of pity, regret, relief
I walk to his casket, peering inside
Once my captor, the weights that held me down
The pain, sadness mixed with the feeling of freedom
Now the fallen angel can fly
“I loved this man” I whisper
“Once he was my world”
“Over and over he cast me away, his unwanted little girl”
“Remember me my father, and I will remember you”
Goodbye Daddy, may you finally find peace after death.
Kenneth David Brewer
December 22, 1952 to January 9, 2007
(c) 2007
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