He Said He Had No Son

My dad told everyone he wished he never had a son, so I gave him exactly what he wanted,

and now he can’t undo it. My father collected failures like trophies. Mine.

He’d introduce me with a shrug. This is my son. He tried. He’d end phone calls

if I wasn’t saying something useful. His office was covered in photos of my older brother Mark,

the golden child who could do no wrong. Even praise was a blade.

Not bad… for you. When I brought home straight A’s except one A-, he called the school

and asked why I wasn’t pushed harder, because clearly mediocrity was getting comfortable.

When I won regionals for debate, he told relatives I talked too much and probably annoyed