SON 1 making love to make our son I kiss her eyes as if God were inside her 2 my wife gave birth to my son on the floor of the house I built 3 he keeps me up all night ***** on my sleeve feverish cries for his mama until dawn lifts the heads of sunflowers 4 forget poetry going out jazzed our winter born boy needs his diaper changed her ancient *** me house cleaning singing lullabies like a dove 5 wild iris sway as he wades downstream singing 6 one God many stories holding you our son walking the blue earth breathing away the pain with friends 7 amazing the ups and downs my son chasing ducks Sunday eating together my friend’s cancer battle my wife’s selfless moan 8 playing with candlelight my son burnt his finger I warned him 9 shower eat help my son memorize the constellations pay bills watch my wife sleep 10 worried about rats eating wallboard in the dead of night I get up cover my son 11 my son refuses to wear a raincoat in the summer rain 12 in his 2nd grade family drawing: my son gladday ready his mom hugging him me head in the clouds our cat smiling 13 when rains make bitter grass green with laughter my son springs from the winter of his room with his shedding dog and new baseball yelling to his buddies “Wait up!” 14 late afternoon October sycamore shadows blowing elm my son his dog me 15 after days of acid rain the lost sun comes promising heaven sent birds and boys' voices 16 dragged my son up the mountain to watch the meteor shower sons and fathers everywhere I hope 17 my best friend’s grave she loved singing my son asleep now she’s waving grass wildflowers 18 in a vacant lot my freckled face boy floats at the happy end of his 99¢ kite
19 the science of mystical seeds restores your left brain faith in everyday miracles like noisy boys climbing the music of old trees 20 if we could come back her a book of flowers our son blades of grass me the invisible wind 21 6 to 6 deep plowing then wall-to-wall screaming kids a leaky roof the old tractor my darling one naked notebooks full of dreams 22 sling shot boys kick red and gold leaves swirling down the street of locked doors at the tired end of Indian summer 23 my sons reaches for falling snow trampling veined leaves with footloose laughter fearless of winter's night the certain bones 24 true I care more than my son when he plays baseball 25 the orange tree my son planted today will fruit after we’re long gone 26 the bus driver brags about her son’s first home run wishes she could have been there 27 putting flowers on mother’s grave my son holds my hand 28 when night rises I yearn when my son comes home I relax when you sing I surrender 29 WTC on t.v. my son’s face a cloud of tears 30 his father beat him black and blue her husband her their sons their sons 31 the eyes told me that I’d play catch with his sons long after he thought breathed 32 I argued with my son explained the rules he still did what he wanted 33 my boy swaggers down Main St. sure he'll live forever 34 in the back seat good boys brag about good girls what they wanna do with them 35 sleepless until my son comes home late then finally I turn over and rest 36 the light in my son’s words the silent stones of his tears 37 quiet room unmade bed boys playing in the rain stupid poems awful silence
38 all the dawns evening storms lovely ******* good talk tickled son blow plumeria drift 39 when the stone of night rises I a thief of songs yearn for the music of a woman's light 40 I don't get it gone son lost lover sick friends joyless graying unkissed ******* blood 41 half her half me our son didn't know where to go when she moved out 42 when I'm memory my son might think of me when he's gone I'm only a poem or two 43 bombs hunger lacklove prodigal son abandoned fields come down God get back to work