Dad,
You are the lamp sitting on my desk
With a flickering bulb
In a rusted nest

Flick, Flick
In the night you scream
With your cycle 60
In a crooner’s dream

Man,
You are the sinner’s chorus
Of knight and rook
On the board that bore us

Tick, Tick
Goes your timer on
Just above my head
Like a rooster at dawn

Friend,
You are my worst acquaintance
Your light is so faint
Yet you’re still high maintenance

Itch, Itch
When my skin starts crawling
The cloth of your shade
Bit by bit, starts falling

Blind,
My eyes when I try to see you
Even in darkness
I can’t even come near you

Burns, Burns
On my skin from the wire
The cord of AC
With which you start your fires

Kind,
A word that could not describe it
The feeling I get
Watching you have to hide it

Lamp, Lamp
That cruel fixed placement
Strapped to my desk
Every day, like it’s paved in

Devil,
Waiting for dark endangerment
I need you too bad
To repent for you, miscreant

Dad, Dad
The nefarious ‘brother’
I can’t keep you here
We endanger each other

Dad, Dad
I’m getting out of the gutter,
Stepping into the light
Time to open the shutters.