I. <br />I haven’t spoken to my brother in ten years. <br />His brain was slammed in a car accident, <br />never got any therapy because dad didn’t believe in it. <br />Somehow he came into some money <br />and spent it on surplus military vehicles, <br />which he leases to Hollywood from time to time. <br /> <br />II. <br />When my dad’s appendix burst, he didn’t know it, <br />tried to kill the pain with bourbon, <br />finally phoning me in delirious distress <br />and I called the ambulance. <br />My sister wouldn’t let the paramedics in. <br />The police came with a megaphone, <br />busted down the door. <br /> <br />III. <br />I hadn’t spoken to my alcoholic mother in 13 years <br />when a stranger called and said she was dying. <br />I flew to Chicago and spent the afternoon <br />at her comatose side telling her body <br />what I’d been doing for the last 13 years. <br />She died the next afternoon <br />while I was out getting a sandwich.<br /><br />Michael Philips<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-whole-family-is-dysfunctional/
