leaving

daddy’s set to go
a stripped mind
slag-heap face

daddy’s set to go
unravelled tongue
resigned dialect
                 
got himself
childhood wounds
alive, amber preserved

got himself
the machinery
leaden arms

i can’t read between his lips
as he tells me drained lullabies
as he tucks me in, dawn breaks
his face gentle on mine

got himself
last view eyes
vanished smile

got himself
one-way map
charted escape route