I never heard my fathers footsteps
I only heard the jingle of his keys
He knew the trick, so the door wouldent click
No soft step of foot, no swish of dungarees

He always snuck in like a thief in the night
His cologne would fill the hall
My neck would tingle, at the sound of that jingle
At the thought that we might go play ball

I know why he was ashamed
Now that Im old
And I think, I even knew it then
His keyring was heavy, with the secrets hed bury
And the notes he wrote with his pen

There was a key for his car
For his house and his safe
For his girlfriends car and her apartment
For his lockbox and his suitcases
For his storage unit and PO box
A key from his wife, to the locket of life
And to the heart he stole like a fox

I pledge to myself just this one thing
To never have as many keys as my dad
To not cause the strife, that has twisted my life
And made me feel empty and sad

My father never beat us
He never drank a drop
But every time I see that man
It makes my heart snap and stop

Happy belated fathers day.

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