Salvage

It all started one day, one quiet night
A man walked from work, he felt alright
His name was John, but at work he was called J
He said nicknames bothered him, but this one was okay
He walked into his house, exclaimed that he had come home
His kids ran up to him while his wife was on the phone
He left the kids unoccupied to hear his wife crying
Asked what the matter was, she said she found out that he was lying
And so it turned out that all the nights he was gone
He had been with another girl, at a hotel near the mall
His wife drove away with the belongings and the kids
And J just sat there in a lonely home, hating what he did
Called up this girl, told her that it was over
It was never meant to happen, he screwed up; he wasn’t sober
He couldn’t explain it to his wife so she would understand
She drove away, his kids slipped right out of his hands
All alone, he stayed in his lonely home
The room’s empty and cold as he stared at the phone
Didn’t have any money to go anywhere or to eat
Didn’t have the endurance to live off of the street
He didn’t have the will to make ends meet
So he sat there starving, in his lonely seat

Meanwhile, his wife is at her mother’s home
She wouldn’t stop crying, she felt so alone
The kids didn’t know what was going on
They wanted to be with their dad, but they tried to console their mom
She didn’t know what to do, it was all going so fast
She had no clue, she thought he had intentions in the past
But she still loved him, and thought it was all a mistake
Maybe they could fix it, and push the pain back away
But something was holding her back, she couldn’t do it
She thought it would it be more of a mistake, couldn’t go through with it
So she stood there for week, looking down at the street
And hoping maybe that soon, he would be calling
But she had not heard from him, it had been almost a month
The kids were still confused, it was all too much.

J couldn’t stand his home, and left it behind
Couldn’t let the pictures on the nightstand torture his mind
He took all he could and put it in a shopping cart
Hoping that maybe somewhere, he’d have a fresh start
As he sat on apartment steps, everybody looked his way
Seeing him each night wiping his tears away
His life had been ruined, and there was nothing he could do
He would never see her again, but he really wanted to
If only I could go back in time, he said every night with a frown
Looking at everybody that walked around
He couldn’t even keep warm, he wished he had a jacket to warm him
Didn’t even have the thought that somebody could looking for him
But his wife miles away was still crying on her bed
Her kids trying to ask her what daddy said
She said that daddy didn’t love her anymore
And that they wouldn’t see daddy no more
The kids began to cry, and so did she
As J passed out on the side of the street

A couple of weeks later, J’s wife got a call
From a policeman, who worked right near the mall
J had been arrested for murder
Now she was scared, she thought that J would hurt her
But all she wanted was for him to be okay
But when she went to the station, it wasn’t that way
It turned out to be worse, when she visited his cell
That it was awfully apparent that J was definitely not well
He had scars on his face and bruises on his arms
She couldn’t do anything, he was a victim to harm
He gazed in her eyes, with an urge to say
What happened, and how things shouldn’t have gone this way
But he just sat there, rugged clothes, scarred face
And his wife just stood, wiping her tears away
Her kids by her side asking who J was
And J just burst into tears because
His own kids couldn’t recognize him anymore
Now he thought that there was nothing worth living for
He began to look away stared at the gun in an officer’s pocket
But then something grabbed his attention, his wife’s locket
That he gave to her, 3 years ago that night
It became clear to him, that nothing was alright
His wife stayed, and for the rest of the night
They both sat there and continued to cry

5 months later, J was executed
J’s wife watched it on TV, had it muted
Her kids were watching the execution in another room
They were crying, and J’s wife knew that they wouldn’t stop soon
She went into the closet, opened a shoebox
There were many random things, notes and fur clothes
But she emptied it all on the floor, and what dropped
Was a gun, that she kept at the bottom, safe and locked
She closed the door, locked, turned the TV up full sound
She was silent, and as she looked around
Found a bullet in her drawer, and looked at it sharply
She was holding her tears, but she couldn’t do it hardly
For a minute, she started at the TV
As her kids knocked on the door, asking for mommy
And once the announcer said that J was declared dead
She put the bullet in her gun, and put it right in her head

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I had no particular reason for why I wrote this, but I'd like some comments on it. I know there's some forced rhyming, but I won't bother.

 

The last line was inspired by Spraypaint & Inkpens.

 

Thanks, guys.