He came down for dinner
about the only time I see him
anymore
I read him some Carver
He didn't see the point,
in Carver's poetry
I read him some Bukowski
thinking he might like that more
He didn't
So I made some brownies
a subtle lure
to drown the distance
between upstairs and down
between father and son
between 45 and 15
Sixty minutes later
I had another opportunity
one more reading
I put away Carver
and Bukowski too
and took a chance
on another poem
fresh off the page
fresh from my pen
he liked it
liked it best of all he said
bounding upstairs
I ate my brownie
alone
with a father's smile
12 comments:
Love it! THAT was high praise.
Thanks Jen. I watched his face closely. The praise was sincere. Meant the world to me.
Teenagers know best, you know!
Great image.
So they say. :-D
Thought perfect moment, and perfect poem.
Far to go, at least now I have means to begin. Yey. :-) H
Welcome back Ms Storm. You've been missed. :-)
Awww, that made me smile too. Very sweet.
Thanks Athena, the poem in question is the one right below this one (Calvin).
*dance* Now you never need to dispute his taste, hey?
SarahA, I can't argue with your logic. ;-)
Happiness. There is a scene in the film The Pursuit of Happyness, where the narrative pinpoints a moment, "there, right there", of happiness. That is what this is, the event, the memory of the event, recorded now not just in memory but perfectly within the writing and through this sharing in the memory of those that read it. Like a gift passed on, this poem, this memory of reading this poem creates such happiness. Bubbles of it. Bursting. And this is when I know, know again, what an accomplished writer you are, for the writing is not buoyant, it isn't ardent, or rather it is, but in a 'harnessed' fashion, and what I mean by this is that rather than screaming from the roof tops so to speak, you have written of this moment with such grace and beauty, quietly, fatherly, poetically, and in so doing you have shown rather than told and allowed the events to unfold, the emotions to build, the moment, the importance, the feeling, the happiness to be gathered. Your title is once again utterly perfect. I love this poem, I love how you wrote this poem, I love everything about the way that you wrote this poem (eg the inclusion of upstairs.. and brownie/smile..), I love that you must have been infused with such warmth and pleasure, I love that you had this moment, this moment to which belong your son and your writing, that you will always have this gift, this memory and additionally this beautifully written record, this poem reminds me in how it makes me feel of Louis Armstrong's 'It's a wonderful world', it makes me want to put my arms around the world, you first, and jump for joy at the beauty of people and the power of love, to define in cliche, the imperfections (distances, problems, etc) that in turn lend the opportunity to truly appreciate and be touched. Just love - love, love, love this poem.
Sweetest, you've captured the event perfectly. It was a moment, one I will treasure for a long, long time, a jewel of a moment, lasting but for a second or two when he offered his commentary on my poem; and so I wonder at the power of just a couple seconds, at the power of just a few words and again, I am a student and the child is the teacher. :-)
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