My Father, the hero

He is my hero,
and holds my hand at the dentist's.

He is my father,
and reads me stories until I fall asleep.

He is my hero,
and swims next to me if I don't have feet.

He is my father,
and pushes my hair back when I am sick.

But sometimes my hero is passed out on the couch,
and isn't there to see as I start slipping.

And sometimes my father is too drunk to function,
He cannot catch my hand, and so I fall.