I wake up early, quietly excited,
As it is the last day of work.

I get to the workshop half an hour before due,
Just to get it done.

They all file in, around the same time,
Exhausted from a year of toil,
Cigarettes and insulting chatter,
As the kettle continues to boil.

Midday arrives, not soon enough,
They wait for my ok or my nod,
I set up my instant reply on email,
And close this ******* laptop.

On my feet, I give the wave,
They come sprawling in,
Advance to the fridge, straight to the beer,
Lets forget about work, and dribble some ****.

Twenty one days, away from this place,
Fingers crossed I don't get bored,
We share memories of terrible jobs,
And the endurance required to complete them.

Twenty two days later,
I unlock as the sun rises,
Sigh to myself and think back,
Here we go again...

I will be
The man you could not be
I will show love
Where you could not,
I will be there
For their recitals and events
It does not matter
If they couldn't see me.

I will be
The server of their meals
The cleaner of their dishes
The chauffeur of their adventures,
I will be
The healer of their wounds
Their teacher amongst their chaos
The silence in all the noise.

I will be
The father I never had
The pride when they introduce Dad
The strength when they are sad
I will be
A male role model
The angel on your shoulder
The smart **** remark to your stupid questions.

Just you wait kiddo
As you get older
I will always be here
To help you get stronger,
Just so you know
Your Mum taught me everything
Without her support and dedication
Our relationship would be nothing.

So, when you look to me
Know, that I look to her
As she is the key
To our comfortable open door.

Know that I love you
I'd sley any dragon for you
Regardless of what you put me through
I'd pay any price to see you happy.

Cos I'm your Dad
Your old man, the old boy
And I will break every bone in my body
For your pursuit of happiness.

The alarm goes off at five twenny two
My alarm is a Lion King song
When the sun rises...
In the movie, at the start, that song.

Coffee n smoke.

White n two,
In my peripherals,
Work kit beside the glass cabinet,
Waiting for me to shower.

Time ticks, hot water alarms
Triggers get dressed.

Wallet, keys, phone, smokes, lighter,
Check.
Rogie.
So... les go.

Turn the key
Slow revs
Try not to wake
The sleepin babes,
Music set to twenny two
From the nigh before
Down the road, I know
The best lane to sit in.

Iced coffee beside me,
From home fridge or servo,
Ciggy lit, right arm elby out the winda,
Enjoying the calm before the storm.

The code to the place
I spend most of my time
Is nineteen oh one
That's when I say good mornin,

To an empty warehouse.

An thats what begins
The start of each day
Of every
Working week.

Actualized dependencies
Total recordable injury frequency rate
Moving forward...

Go **** yourself.

I am suddenly "in"
Against my will
Amongst corporate drones
Forever on their phones.

Their sentences are cryptic
Their question are trivial
I sit there, complexed
Listening to their drivel.

Acronyms flow freely
From their forked tongues
I ask a menial question
Only to be scoffed upon.

As my brow furrows
And my chest tightens
I clench my fists
Withholding under the desk.

This is a boys club
Of overly cologned men
Clean cut with ***** paws
Suit and tie, the works.

It is my turn to speak
I stand and I ask
Were you lads always like this?
Who started this stupid stance?

I explain realistically
This is what affects our reality
These tasks and these problems
Are you lads even listening?

Once the silence gets too much
I take my seat
Every man in this room
Loses their job within a week.

They are given the flick
And I am given a raise
In high-vis, I carry on
Given obligatory praise.

I decline the raise
I spread it across my crew
As they are the gentleman
Deserving the recognition.

I return to my office
Answering emails and calls
Just another day
At big fat stupid work.

I used to hold him in one arm
Now he stands just as tall
He measures his height against mine
To compare and gloat.

I used to be his number one
Kiss his sores and smack his ***
Now he's just on Instagram
Making friends with strangers.

I see through his silly lies
I understand his silly angst
I try not to get overly mad
To this son of Dad.

He tests my limits
Pushes my buttons
I enforce that he understands
Consequences to his actions.

It wont be long
And he'll be gone
My first born
And oldest son.

Already I miss him
And he's still here
I look forward to the day
We can reminisce over a beer.

He will join me
In work, as an electrician
I will teach him my ways
I will teach him everything.

When we knock off
And he comes over for dinner
Me and his mum
Will make sure it's his favourite.