My dad passed away in January from Covid complications and cardiac arrest. We hadn't spoken but once in probably 10-12 years, and the one time we did it was...insulting, to say the least. Your comment is spot-on. I don't/won't be the one to rewrite history praising someone who isn't worthy of it, regardless of what others think is "the right thing to do" regarding the deceased.
As for the last line, he sucked me in more than a few times into thinking he might actually become a good dad. But it wouldn't be long after that the disappointment resettled, without getting too specific, in whatever form it would take. My siblings have much different memories and recollections than I do, because they lived with him and my late brother and I did not. And that made a huge impact on my brother's life, eventually leading to his suicide, I believe (among other factors). And that's where the last line comes in...he'd taken me for enough rides in the past that I wasn't gonna be taken anymore, especially after he blew off my brother before he died.
I'm not sure about the last line, but I especially love the whole third stanza. And the idea that you can't resurrect someone into something they weren't rings true. So often when someone dies we rewrite history and only remember the good things or even start giving them attributes that they didn't have.
I really like the first stanza. I think you could have that stand on its own and be complete, honestly. But I guess then it would be less of a personal statement about yourself.
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