'98 - Thavius Beck, Nocando

I remember '98 like the breath before this one

March 6th

My Dad’s death was commissioned

Screams from the room to the left of the kitchen were manufactured to make the

deaf wanna listen

His skin and liver got cancer

The kidneys got it after

The latter was the lungs filling with plasma three times faster than his bladder

While I slept in the same room and acted like the matter never mattered

Teaspoonfuls of morphine everyday between two full moons for four weeks

Poor me

I could barely afford sleep while the screams stormed rained razors in your

boy’s dreams at fourteen

I was listening

I’ve never seen change as quick as this

Must have been some sort of cosmic trick

'Cause I was sent to live with him for discipline

Momma got her wish

And now he’s a walking stick

His feet swelled 'til his house shoes decided not to fit

I was smoking pot an awful not, and not a bit

And cigarettes

I started with a box of his that he left in the glove box once he’d gotten sick

We only got a two month head up

The first one was hospital visits

The next one was a back full of bedsores

His legs numb with bloody lips and a cancer smell

And I’m sad as hell

I wish I heard the stories he never had a chance to tell

But now he’s gone insane from the tumor in his brain

His sisters watch his Mom in pain whisper, «not again»

Every-night he asks for help

On that day he got his way my Grandpa, Aunt, and I watched him scream the whole

evening

If I’m not mistaken I think I seen his soul leaving

The next thing I know I’m on the phone speaking to my mother

Telling her the whole thing and my eyes gush mid-sentence for seemingly no

reason

We could have overflowed a stream for the whole season

And then I’m on the porch slow breathing

Thinking, «why'd you die tonight?»

Eyes too dry to cry

Two homies came by not to get me high to my surprise

I sacked it up

Right when I had enough of acting tough, I asked who had the blunt?

The answer was, «quit pretending like it’s all good and gravy, acting cool,

I’d be going crazy»

So I told them, «we were never close but lately, just maybe, this experience

helped raised me

And at least I got to learn that my father was a car salesman who could play

any instrument by ear

We’d go fishing, buy beef jerky, coca-cola, and dry beer

He taught me how to stay warm in the cold and couple of life game codes

And at least made me make plans to get past 39 years old»