Game 50

​CHI 105               MIN 112

3 True Stories About Fatherhood

#1
​
Briana met her daddy
On the day she turned sixteen.

She was bragging about it
The whole next week.

Her auntie--
Her daddy’s sister--
Had taken her.

It wasn’t that scary--
Not really.

She must have got
Her daddy’s bravery.

Her little brother
Was too afraid to go.

He had heard
Too many times
That he had got his daddy’s
​Kind brown eyes--

But also his temper.

And if he didn’t watch out,
He would end up
Just like him.

---

#2

​Between hits of a joint,
J. spoke excitedly.

I think it’s good
I never knew my father.

That he took off
When I was just a kid.

This way,
I don’t have to be like him.

I’m not doomed
To repeat his mistakes.

A clean slate
For my son.

Holy shit!
I’m gonna be a dad!

And now I hear
He’s back around.

My brother saw him
At a party.

---

#3

Angela
Got a flower
For her birthday.

A rose

Drawn
By her father
Who lives in a cage.

She was so proud
When she showed it to me.

Beaming.
Like a light.

Perfect
Patient
Gangster calligraphy

Spelling out her name:

ANGELA

Isn’t he amazing?
She asked.

It’s beautiful,
I responded.

It's really beautiful.