paternal blues, pt. 2

my dad doesn’t understand the blues
but that’s because he’s not living it
the subtle nuances of pain and defeat
every note a scream on beat

silent fingers glide over fretted ash
nickel-plated steel does the talking
telling its tale of bad news
but my dad still doesn’t understand the blues

the weary song of a traveler
grunted through the black heart’s grasp
the shattered cries of a broken man
and my dad can never understand