two boys
three weeks
waiting slows time
/ / /
1 October 2021
Hardwick VT
Category: Family
take a note
no paper
what will my sons leaf through?
/ / /
21 September 2021
Greensboro VT
a cheerful light
in a tie-dyed shirt
grace in human form
/ / /
5 September 2021
Albany NY
dead dad
for Arthur Lee Borders
YouTube told me my dad died
two years after the fact
a video, an email response &
I’m down a parent
the few people I’ve told
send their condolences
but I did my mourning
years ago
his first disappearance
has kept me sober
since I was old enough
to know about drinking
his second exit
is a period
to a sentence
already completed
/ / /
20 July 2021
Greensboro VT
northbound tomorrow
it’s never easy to leave
summer sun setting
/ / /
18 July 2021
State College PA
gnome on the dashboard
with polka dots on his cap
think of Aunt Linda
/ / /
4 July 2021
Greensboro VT
grandpa’s hands
I have your feathery hair
“grandpa’s hands,” I thought, looking at mine
but we’re not related, are we?
that was one hell of a secret to take to the grave
we told you we were naming our first son after you
you said, “Don’t saddle him with that name”
I assumed you meant it was outdated
now I wonder
it doesn’t change the time we had together
or how much I miss you
but others had already chopped down
most of my family tree
now the little that was left
is engulfed by fog
/ / /
30 April 2021
Farmington NY
for Bernie Flanders
like father, like son
you’re into drifting and so am I
though I mean it like Kung Fu
& you mean it like Tokyo Drift
you’ve got my sense of humor &
probably too much of my personality
for your own good
you’re braver than I’ve ever been
& fearless in just the right way
willing to put your whole body
into whatever you’re pursuing
where I was always more
of an indoor kid
most importantly to me:
the same things make you angry
that make me angry
meaning you stand up for others
whether you know them or not
& that’s all I could ever ask for
/ / /
21 April 2021
State College PA
for John Crane
no child
no child deserves to be punched
or to have love taken away on a whim
no child should live in fear
or find themselves suddenly on the street
no child earns self-loathing
or a lifetime of questioned relationships
no child needs to become an adult
under the weight of a childhood like this
no child needs to forgive, to forget
or to remain in contact like bondage
I am no child
I am no child
I am no child
/ / /
14 April 2021
State College PA
for my parents
I remember there was a bat involved
actually you remember there was a bat
& I remember it because you’ve told me
my childhood is a deep dark well
but you’ve sent the bucket down
to bring back a treasure or two
I’m shedding my old ideas of family
because blood isn’t a strong enough tie
but even if we weren’t related I’d choose you
& not just because you remember the bat
/ / /
13 April 2021
State College PA
for Lynne Harting
fatherhood
why didn’t you come looking for me?
sure we moved around but a little effort
would have made all the difference
thirty years later we met in your trailer
ten years after that I stood at your mother’s grave
this has been a time of shedding my past
I have three living parents
I don’t speak to any of them
you cant sail with the anchor down
/ / /
11 April 2021
Newnan GA
for Art Borders