My Siblings’ Father
written by: Judge Burdon
other children feared monsters under their bed
i feared the one living under our roof.
his hair was nimbus black with a storm’s thunder in his voice.
his fists were freight train brown ball bearing knuckles
frostbite blue was his touch with empty icebox eyes
his smile untrusted growling words spoken like tangled spaghetti
he was my mother’s husband my siblings’ father
a childhood of baseballs never thrown
bruises and shattered bones medicated with lies
happiness diluted with tears in a house with screams undetected
when asked what i wanted to be i testified “far from here”
now, fiber optic home front news faceless words
cancer eating away at your life with the fury of a piranha
your disease now my champion fighting with the courage i was unable to muster
your epitaph written in my adolescence while plotting your midnight homicide
again you leave unaccountable for your actions
i’m left to wrestle with the demons
not the strength to forgive my memory too scarred to forget
i’ll keep the battle lines drawn as your monument
let the puzzle piece fall where it may
good bye old man you’ll be missed like a pit vipers bite
your pain can no longer touch me
from the grave.
His short stories and poems have been featured in; The Remnant Leaf, Stay Weird and Keep Writing, Independent Writer's Podcast, Spillwords, The Beatnik Cowboy, Down in the Dirt Magazine, The Raven Cage, Eskimo Pie, Across The Margin, Story Pub, Scarlet Leaf Review, Horror Sleaze Trash, The Stray Branch and Anti-Heroin Chic.
"Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild Cautionary Tales" the first book from Santiago was published by HST Publishing in January. He is presently engaged in finishing his book "Imitation of Myself." A non-fiction story encompassing his experiences as a drug runner for a Mexican Cartel. He celebrated his 66th birthday last July and lives modestly in Costa Rica.
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