reenlisting
for Owen
I didn’t go home after the war, instead —
rucksack slung over my shoulder
ashamed of who I’d become
& of who I’d left behind —
I wandered for years
winding a course through scrubland
surviving on tofu &
the kindness of strangers
later still I rose up from the South
ancient ground of (some of) my people
ankles swelling in a cramped bus seat
beside the Appalachian Trail
I’d always hated Pennsylvania
swore never to live there
so of course that’s where the bus stopped
less than a mile from my children
now, though I imagine water
& gulls above the Atlantic,
I find the ground hardening beneath my feet
as I relearn the delicate art of balance
on a blanket in the park
on a rain-soaked Friday evening
I took the ring from your fingers
& realized I’d gone home after all
/ / /
Jason Crane
22 March 2018
Butler PA
Comments