I was twenty-one
Working three jobs 
Had two other roommates 
Neither of them could keep jobs
For whatever reason or other 
College courses were growing harder
The will in me to rearrange my schedule 
One more time, for one more person or thing
Became absolutely much too much for me 

At the time
I knew everything about 
Absolutely nothin’

One night when I had been
manic cleaning my apartment 
Knee deep in laundry 
Alone, and pouring shots
My Nokia phone rang 
It was my dad calling to chat
Things for him became 
As clear as my next shot of vodka 
That my life was as clear as mud
We decided that night 
Maybe I needed a break 
From more than just the bottle 
I moved back in with my parents 
For six months straight 
I followed rules that were not fun
There was nothing cool about it

At the time 
I knew everything 
About absolutely nothing.

He once said 

He made the claim once 
“When you become a parent, you look at your child and say this how much dad loved me.”

My house, my rules 
I remember at times 
Being so angry with him
To take my rage of the world 
Somehow place it all on him 
I didn’t realize at the time
That my dad had simply 
Created a lean to 
Took all my pain 
Gave it a place holder
A much needed curfew
Through it I survived 

I hope I teenagers see 
That sometimes 
The price of freedoms 
Might be really high 
But our love costs nothing and
Waits in the silence of home.