[ NaPo 2017 ] Some Ghosts Are Welcome

   
My childhood went up in smoke  
when my parent's home burned  
 
For the first time in my life, they  
were noticeably at odds  
 
She had enough money set aside  
from an inheritance to purchase  
a not so new not so mobile
mobile home  
 
He would be damned if they  
paid a few hundred dollars in rent  
on a tiny sliver of land  
 
I insisted they come to a decision  
because I couldn't stand them arguing  
and not getting along in my house  
 
To make a long, miserable story short  
---mother caved, father got his way;  
they moved away in towards Chicago  
to live rent free in an old apartment  
building owned by other family  
 
He was in and out of the VA hospital
for the next five years until he died of  
bladder cancer and Alzheimer's  
 
Currently, she has lives in
a not so new not so mobile
mobile home---  
independent and happy  
for the last eleven years or so
despite the park association
raising the rent on her
tiny sliver of land  

but so far, so good  
 
There is no poetry in this tale  
to glean; only regret  
 
for demanding my parents  
get along or get out  
 
For that, I was wrong
as well  
 
I've long since moved on

You should too, Dad
  
but you are welcome to stay  
in my home for as long  
as you want