Daddys Back from Vegas

Daddy’s Back from Vegas

He staggered through the screen door wearing lipstick on his neck
Said he hit the jackpot, bought a hooker and a Rolex
Mom was passed out on the sofa, bottle tucked beneath her breast
And I was thirteen, learning fast that love just means”what’s left”
He dropped a deck of cards like proof he still had class
Asked if I missed him while he vanished up his past
Said”Someday, boy, you’ll get it —all this charm, all this flash”
But all I got was night terrors and a title I couldn’t trashDaddy’s back from Vegas, high on cheap cologne and sin
Says he loves the family, then disappears again
We light the candles anyway, pretend heat’s Santa Claus
But Daddy’s back from Vegas, and the devil paid the cost
He bragged about roulette, a dancer titled Jeanette
Said she made him feel alive—Mom just lit a cigarette
I wched her smile like a corpse pretending it ain’t dead
Then whisper through clenched teeth, “Just smile and go to bed”
He left again sunrise, left the fridge and mailbox bare
Left a bracelet in the sink and a lock of bleached blonde hairDaddy’s back from Vegas, high on cheap cologne and sin
Says he loves the family, then disappears again
We light the candles anyway, pretend heat’s Santa Claus
But Daddy’s back from Vegas, and the devil paid the cost
I don’t roll dice no more—I just burn the ones he touched
Daddy’s back from Vegas. But I don’t give a fuck.