“Daddy taught me”

“Dad taught me”

My brother,
dad’s desire—
waiting
in anticipation
with bated breath.

Junior
he called him
Camel’s smoke
flowing freely from
his nose
his lungs.

My sister an added
piece of the puzzle.
Galveston
Miamu

twins
us
times hard then.
We never knew.

Money made by men
who understood
the how
the why
the when.

Dad caught in the whirlwind of without.

But he saw—
he knew and
hell-bent
we would know
that which had passed him by.

second grade hauling furniture
to Kansas City
his sidekick
long nights
lonely roads.

loading trucks at the factory
soldier’s pants for ‘Nam
mom sewed.
as the irony
escaped me.

The importance of work
sweat and toil
labor
my Dad
revealed
without a word.

He never understood
simple things.

of children
of life.

He never had the expectancy
the opportunity
the hope.