Mark

Believing, as he does, in a libertarian ethic,
Judging his teenage stepsons as "unwilling" to straighten their lives,
Mark looks at 2 more years of conflict under his roof.
 
He flagellates himself over decisions made
Without enough forethought.
Jason, the older child, is less of a problem now
That he is serving a 6 month sentence.
Bryan, starting his junior year in a high school Mark seldom visits,
Is proving unreachable.
 
Where do you go, if not forward?
What does "forward" mean if all signposts point down?
I think Mark will assign most of his guilt elsewhere.
Who among us does not?
 
I knew one woman who saw her marriage
To a fellow senior, who turned out to be very ill,
As a correctable failure.
After seeing him through a third hospitalization,
She walked away.
 
It seems Mark will do that too, but with conviction.