Dad

Dad used to play games before children arrived

Dad beat the high score on Frogger

Dad had his score wiped by the first, crawling

Dad drank a carton to quell his frustration

Dad doesn't game anymore

Dad raised three boys

Dad was asked by the eldest to stop smoking

Dad didn't think to ween himself off nicotine

Dad was all willpower

Dad quit cold turkey

Dad wanted a staircase

Dad asked his boys for help

Dad offered nothing more in return

Dad would wait years to reach the bottom floor

Dad was patient

Dad worked from dawn

Dad did not observe public holidays

Dad had trouble sleeping

Dad always answered his phone

Dad provided for all but himself

Dad drove his sons to work

Dad asked for nothing in return

Dad advised his sons to "Get a license."

Dad ran a taxi service

Dad never got paid his due

Dad received his diagnosis

Dad kept working

Dad fought with his hands

Dad could no longer trust his body

Dad started slipping away

Dad missed his boys

Dad waited for them to return

Dad would remember loose dates as promises

Dad wants nothing more

Dad is still waiting

Dad left the country

Dad forgot his friends and family

Dad forgot who he was

Dad pissed his pants

Dad was so ashamed

Dad fought for his life

Dad was never threatened

Dad tried to make his escape

Dad was surrounded

Dad is alone