Room 203

Room 203, English 10,

She still remembers it now and then.

Every other day theyʻd meet each other,

Bet they didn’t see it coming, being my father and mother.

He’d wait at her locker just to have a kiss goodbye,

When she saw him there her heart would fly.

Pick up at 8, to go on a magical date,

Always on the dot never a minute late.

She knew in her heart this was destiny,

Something inside said this was meant to be.

Senior year class of 61,

He was set with his “honey bun”.

Homecoming king and homecoming queen,

Happiest moment of their lives, so it had seemed.

Summer of 1990 when my sister was brought into their life,

He knew now he had to make her his wife.

A big wedding with flowers and a cake,

The pressure started to build, “I just need a drink for Christ sakes.”

He left his own wedding early to be alone,

With the drink in his hand, this is where his true self was shown.

He came back a few hours later,

My mom to him, she had to cater.

She didn’t mind she knew he was stressed,

She knew in her heart that she was still blessed.

This became a regular, he wouldn’t come home,

When he went out he felt in his zone.

My mom waiting up just for him to open the door,

He’d wobble and trip but catch himself using the floor.

“please stop” she mumbled, as he stormed through their home,

She was afraid of him, but even more of being alone.

A baby was coming, she knew all too well,

3 months pregnant with me, on her mind this would dwell.

He promised her love, he promised her change,

but he was setting goals that were out of range.

The lying and cheating, the verbal abuse,

but she never bothered to question his use.

The pain of my birth could not compare,

To the pain in her heart that he had placed there.

I came out of the womb to see the despair,

A drunken man who didnʻt care.

We skip seventeen years, it is now present day,

Catch my dad at the bar, he hadn't strayed.

Loyal to the Coors but not to his wife,

Emptying his bottle like he emptied his life.

He never cared, he never cared at all,

He has a phone but he never calls.

I learned from my mother, she taught me this,

A lifetime of pain can start with one kiss.