let me tell you about my father
who loved me
and my two brothers
at an arms length

on one end he held the world
for us and the other
held a rope that led
to the noose around his neck

he told us
he'd **** himself
before he'd let anything happen to us

and when they found
my eldest brother comatose and
sprawled across the linoleum tiles
at a ******* college party

day seven came and
he prayed to the devil
because apparently
god wasn't listening

well,
my brother's alive and well now
and every night
i pray for my father's soul.