Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

10mg

He is on the warpath again,
in his valium haze
demanding
money and pills
and quiet.
He is sitting in that blue recliner
with his hands on his chest
like he were a king
holding court,
fighting
and spewing
and expecting everyone to bow down before him.
I wish I could make him behave,
this man I call my father.
For years he forced his way
down my throat
expecting me to believe
and swallow his every word.
Now I look at him
and see a pathetic ruler,
an ineffectual child
trying to get his way
when he has no idea which way
he is going.