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Joan Bernard
My Mother Taking Over My Father’s Package Store
One drink ushering in the next,
he couldn’t see the red in the ledger,
the stack of bills on the desk.
They had four kids to feed and dress.
It was up to her to make their lives better.
One drink ushering in the next
increased her distress
at meetings with creditors,
at the stack of bills on the desk.
She ran the store with success,
hoping he’d stop his surrender
to one drink ushering in the next.
Long days absent of rest,
she needed relief from the pressure,
the stack of bills on the desk.
She wanted to give back his business,
if only he’d stay sober,
that each drink ushering in the next,
wouldn’t breed bill after bill on the desk.