a saint reviled

catefrances

death turned the bastard
into a saint
a saint reviled
listening to words of praise
for a man that never existed
this person they speak of
is a mystery to me
as i hold my brother's hand
and remember the words
and the shouting
the crack of leather on skin
our child wishes to be taken away
were never answered
his for us just to go get out of his sight
we gratefully granted
huddled beneath my bed
making a new world
where there weren't any dads
at least none with mouths or hands
we cursed our mother for leaving us
but where she went we couldn't follow
we're here in this pew
only to make certain he's really gone
that the chapter's been closed
i just want to stand up and scream
this man you knew
you think you knew
you didn't know him at all
you didn't know him the way we did
you all want to remember him
just as sure as we'd rather forget
death turned the bastard into a saint
and i'll never set foot inside a church again.