I know
you would have
accepted my father day gifts
so I didn't have to cry every year in class.
And you would have never
let me leave the house like this.
I know you would have helped
when mom was too busy
******* a plummer
and my anxiety first popped up.
I know.
You'd have kept the bad boys away,
and taught me how to be strong.
I know you'd have told me about
self-respect
if you had only been here.