Dear Dad
P.H. Madore

Last night I dreamed
Of receiving a phone call
From you
Just to shoot the shit
& I think about you
Every day

I’m alive & well
In Maryland now
& single as usual

I don’t think you’d
Ever approve of the
Women I’ve liked best

They’re drunks & addicts
& we typically fuck
On the first meeting

I like them best
Because they’re more honest
Than their uptight counterparts

You were hoping I’d
Go to jail because
I don’t believe in government

I plead no contest
With the help of a lawyer
Retained by my friend
The lobbyist
& I’m banished from the city
Though I don’t miss it
Or many pricks in it

I do still hate your president
Just like I did when
They bought him in
& yes, you’ve pinned me true
I’d gladly murder your
Commander-In-Chief with frozen blood
Running slowly through my veins

I am an honest man
& loyal to that alone

I hoped one day you’d
Respect me for that
But now you don’t even like
To hear from me

Your father was an anarchist
Who solved countless problems himself

Your brother & sister lived in
His home long after they
Were legal adults &
My grandmother told stories
Of how he helped in other
Ways after they did leave

Your father loved life & labor
I regret never knowing him
Though I am comforted knowing
He died trying to help his
Fellow man in need &
That it was his fellow man
Not his family that finally
Let him down & worse
That let him die

You were always welcome
For a meal in his home
& so were the children
Of your mother’s first husband

I was munching pretzels
When you asked your
Silly questions & ignored
My honest answers

Because I was hungry
Moreover I was starving

Cigarettes curb hunger &
You watched me smoke four

Your kitchen is never barren
Though mine usually is

Yes, Father
The day you
Turned me away
I was starving
& knew where
The bus depot was

But I was hoping
You’d achieve the impossible
& change your mind
In the course of
Seeking it

You were always
Welcome in my home
From the first day I had it

I might have been proud
Of working so tirelessly if
I had thought I’d proven
Any fucking thing to you

You can afford to drive
You can afford bus, plane, or train
You can even afford my college tuition
(though you deny this last bit)
As well as you can afford
Homes in PA, VA, & Maine

You never came because
You might have respected me then
& she might’ve eaten her words

You never came because
Someone else, a psychotic Polack
Didn’t want you to

Last night I dreamed
Of receiving a phone call
From you
Just to shoot the shit
& someday I’ll be famous
So you can count
That as my worth