Watch Your Step

The neighbor made a harmless joke
Now he’s got her by the throat
He doesn’t take jokes
His jealousy will make her choke
But he needs her
So he lets go

No one can know
That she hides her hurt
Grandma always asks
Don’t you wish he didn’t work
Half the year

No, we count down the days
Until he’s 500 miles away

When he’s gone
She finally gets to sleep
Doesn’t spend the day having to clean
The mud tracks down the hall
Or sweeping up the pieces
Of her daughters hearts
That got slammed into the wall

She tells us it will be ok
He’ll be gone soon
Hang on a few more days
You know he didn’t used to be this way
He really has changed
Don’t you remember
The first two years of your life
He used to care
About other people
Then he almost died

Yes, we miss our dad all the time


We have to pretend everything is fine
Spend the days avoiding fights
We let him win
When he isn’t right
We are quiet
So we survive

We live in a house of lies


His money is the compromise
He stays for two weeks
Then he leaves
She knows we can’t make it
By her paycheck alone
So he gets a roof over his head
A mother who cleans up his mess
And sex