Sober Dad

A man lifts his head

as puddled drool

spreads on the floor.

Piss wets his jeans.

A cigarette burn stains

the edge of the sofa.

The woman he used

to love up and left.

The wall clock has

yet to turn in days.

The daughter he loved

died overseas, fighting

for oil.

The DNA test confirmed

his daughter

wasn’t his daughter.

After 23 years of

her calling him Dad,

even the thought of

her drinking a glass of water

makes him tipsy,

taking pride in

the girl he raised

even though she’ll

never know her

her father, he wasn’t.


By Andy Cooper

From: United States

Website: https://drinkcoffeewrite.online

Twitter: AC0040