For the Sins of My Papa

For the Sins of My Papa

They shot him at the back-end bar

no flowers grew, just broken tar

a whisper gone beneath the light

he vanished clean into the night

My papa wore his suit like a king

gold on his wrist and heavy ring

He cupped my face with hands that bled

and left the dark to fill my head

They called him names behind their doors

a man who settled olden scores

he never lied to me, not once

but men like him don’t get a chance

When he was gone, the lights went out

our name was spat, our door shut out

I wore it like a second skin

my papa’s grin, my papa’s sin

No school would take me, none would speak

a child with blood along her cheek

they saw his boots, they saw his eyes

reflected deep in mine like knives

So I grew sharp, I learned to hide

my shoes were thin, my tongue was wide

I walked where others feared to tread

among the cursed, the half-lost dead

A girl like me, I had no choice

the world had burnt away my voice

but in my chest, I kept his name

a stubborn, quiet, burning flame

They want my story, they want my pain

but none will scrub away that stain

I’ll carry it until I’m dust

my father’s shadow, fierce and just

And if they say I don’t belong

I’ve heard it all, I’ve known it long

yet still I stand, I’ve made my way

no matter what their mouths might say

I am his blood, I am his line

the last of him they couldn’t break

he’s gone, but still I hear his laugh

for all he was, I bear the scars

Let them pretend they do not know

what makes a child like me still grow

for all the things he used to be

the world made something worse of me

So write it down and mark it clear

I never begged, I showed no fear

I walked through hell in quiet pride

for Papa’s sins, I never cried.