Dear Dad

I was immature
And I wish I still was
I didn't want to grow up
Or to "grow a pair" and speak up
I just wanted money for college

My father always had a strange look on his face
Whenever he asked me what I was doing
You know the look
It's the look you get when you step in dog crap
Angry, confused, disgusted

So I joined up
And my father looked different
I knew he went to Nam
Because he told me
But he never talked about it

Now he spoke
And I listened
And we hugged
And I left
And I wonder

Is he happy I became
Who he wanted me to be?
Or would he rather have me home
For Christmas?
I hope he reads this

Father, o' father
How many times have we
Left bitter
And abandoned
All hope of ever seeing
Eye to eye
And let it lie
Like sleeping dogs and cursed
Our stubbornness
Then regressed
And only made it worse

I face the sky
Tonight and I
Am bathed in foreign light
Ribbons of fire
Deliver a dire
Streak of mortal might

Father, o' father
We only fought because
I was young and immature
And I wish that I still was

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