father's day

father's day this sunday
i gotta call my old man

i bet a guy money today
that my oldest and youngest
who don't live with me
don't fall by the house this weekend
(haven't seen 'em since the wedding)

i used to do the same thing in the service
every time i tested for promotion
so that even if i lost, i won

i remember the worst one i ever spent
at my reserve unit in louisiana
with an extremely bitter divorced guy from detroit
while my ex spent the last $3000 of my severance pay
on a boob job

i called the house that night
and talked to my oldest
who was 10 years old at the time
alone in the house with her sedated mom
until her grandfather figured that wasn't right and came over
to keep her company

lately i've been thinking about that a lot
and all the times i failed them
and how i probably don't deserve to see them
this sunday
i hate holidays