This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book... “Carpool” Down in the Dirt, v149 (the September 2017 Issue) You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:

Order this writing in the book Negative Space (the 2017 poetry, flash fiction & art collection anthology)		get the 298 page poem, flash fiction & art collection anthology as a 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the issue book the Light in the Sky the Down in the Dirt Sept.-Dec. 2017 collection book		get the 418 page May-August 2017 Down in the Dirt issue anthology 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

“No Day Like It...Not Yet”

Tim O’Keefe

No days were good, but some were worse
“Cancer,” he said it like he was reading a report card
A report card with a C where an A- belonged
yet still implying hope and a passing grade
My dad had no reaction, I had no gun
Dad sat there waiting, I wanted to shoot this pompous prick
The doctor cleared his throat and began again
I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down

My father nodded once, twice, then again
Up, down, up, down...I wanted to grab it
I could hear the clock tick but not one word
Yet my dad kept nodding and nodding
Eventually we left the oversized office
So plush, airy and full of degrees and trinkets
I couldn’t breathe and dad guided me out
Sadly, the pompous doctor still alive

Knowing sped up the disease caught too late
My dad fought his whole life, yet surrendered to fate
I took him in and my kids watched for a time
It progressively worsened and I sent my dad away
I couldn’t make my children watch a man die
That was a torture dad and I alone shared
We went to hell together and only I returned
No days were good, but that one was the worst.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...