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Jun 2015
Daddy was a boa constrictor
Offering up plate fulls of false sense of security
Broken jaw constituents,
Constipated writhing speech; trouble passing bones
Lack of spine constitutes
Ability to bend over backward.
When offered a hug
Squeezes too tight
Unsure if apologizing or preparing the evening meal.
Been stuck in a cage for too long
Regrets not taking a chance to stay in the wild
Opted instead for meals when he wanted them, heat lamp and a stick
Seventeen notches;
One for each year he squeezed tighter on a turtle trying his hardest to soften her shell
One for each year he looked through the glass
Trying to find a rabbit to ravage while barely allowing my mother to breathe
Late night soirΓ©es with cute mice
Come home smelling like the wild
While mother was preparing the evening meal that he would no longer eat
"Stuffed," he explained it. The same way stuffy is how you feel when you can barely breathe.
Discontent with living on one side of the glass where the grass is no longer greener he broke down his walls and slithered away
Wrecked home record, doomed to repeat.
Watched him unhinge his jaw calling it a smile
Forked tongue double speak
He told me he loved me and I think even he believed it
I don't think he could tell the difference between the sun and a heating lamp
He called me his child but I think he only saw warmth from those pits he called eyes
Daddy was blind.
Only recognized me when I grew fangs of my own,
Biting back words that could crush bones I said that I loved him too
Daddy WAS a boa constrictor
Now he's just a snake skin boot, too worn out to be worn again
Anthony Steele
Written by
Anthony Steele  Los Angeles
(Los Angeles)   
286
 
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