FicWad

A/N: This poem is based on the story The Stranger by dreamwhisperer, which is posted here on FicWad. This poem is posted with her permission, and you really should go read her story after you read this because it is uber awesome. (I'd link to it, but I'm not sure how. She's in my Favorite Authors list.)

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The Stranger

Dear Sir,

There's a stranger in my house, sir
And he calls himself my father
Though I know it to be a lie
For while he wears my father's face
He does not wear my father's smile
And while my father loved and cherished me
The stranger slaps and shouts at me
But still, he calls himself my father

I have no father, sir, this I know
My father died two years ago
And the stranger came to live in my house
And he calls himself my father

The stranger comes home every night
Smelling of vodka and vomit
The stranger drinks away Mother's money
And beats her when she tells him there is no more
Our pastry store is run down now
But still the stranger must have his drink
For if I don't bring it to him he slaps me
All while calling himself my father

The stranger is not my father, sir
For my father was a man of honor
My father stood straight and tall
And had strong broad shoulders
Upon which I could sit anytime at all
My father's eyes were warm and loving
His hands tender and caring, and his words
Were always respectful and polite

The stranger's eyes are dead, sir
His shoulders slump and his words are rough
He touches me now only to slap me
He sits and snores in a corner of our store
And scares away our customers
Mother and I go hungry so he may have his drink
And still he is not satisfied
Yet he calls himself my father

I have no father, sir, this I know
My father died two years ago
And the stranger came to live in our house
And he calls himself my father

Mother cries all the time now, sir
When the stranger beats her
And when I ask her why
We no longer have anything to eat
Or money to call a plumber
For our sink is plugged
I can't remember her eyes anymore, sir
Without their veil of tears

When I tell Mother she should get help
She shakes her head and says nothing's wrong
But everything's wrong, sir, and I don't know what to do
My parents aren't my parents anymore
Mother with her broken smile
And the stranger who changed everything
When he moved in two years ago
And started calling himself my father

I think I should call the police, sir
And tell them about the stranger
But I can't bring myself to do so, sir
For the stranger has my father's face
Twisted in anger though it be
And the stranger has my father's hands
Though their touch has turned from love to hate
And the stranger calls himself my father

Please can you help me, sir
Please tell me what to do, sir
For there's a stranger in my house, sir
And he calls himself my father