CINQUAINS
by
Thomas D. Greer
FATHERHOOD
1
Shaving:
lather, scrape, rinse,
drowsy
repetition.
Two sons stand crowding at the
door,
staring.
2
Pickup,
parked in the lot:
bicycles in the bed
--
wheels slowly progress, back and
forth,
waiting.
3
Sidewalk:
stone-chalked portraits,
roller
skate-obstructed,
a nearly intact
Fudgesicle,
melting.
4
Newscast:
another child
"missing, last seen
wearing..."
All night long, awake,
listening,
checking.
5
Waking
at 3:00 a.m.
panicked, sure I
forgot
something important. Did Andrew
potty?!
6
Watching
his brother climb
the backyard's
tallest tree.
His eyes follow, he tells himself:
One
day.
______________________________
SHARING
Eyes shut,
biting his lip,
a solid, dusty,
whump!
announces the summer triumph:
first
catch!
We sit
on the front porch,
tugging the loose
laces -
"It was my father's mitt, then mine,
now
yours."
Later,
he gives the mitt
to his little
brother,
explains the history and says,
"I'll
share."
________________________________
INSTRUCTION
1. Frisbee
A flick,
easy, but quick...
Your
wrist, son. Watch, here's how.
Twist your waist, unwind
your arm,
now - release!
2. Batting
Choke up!
Bat off shoulder.
Look here! Eyes on
the ball...
It's ok! Try again... Now SWING!
Once
more.
3. Turn-about
No, Dad.
Push this button.
Go get your extra
man!
You gotta jump! Watch out! Sorry.
You
lose.
_______________________________
OASIS
1
Your skin,
a delicate
melange of sand and
sun,
the slightest taste of cinnamon
and salt.
2
Your hair
spills through my hands;
I think of a
savage
kneeling beside a dark river
--
quenching.
3
Your eyes,
liquid clay-brown,
mold my nomadic
thoughts
into the Islamic shape of
your eyes.
_____________________________
SHORTLY EVER-AFTER
She dusts
framed photographs,
the wedding, the
babies,
placing them just so, turning him
face
down.
Copyright © Thomas D. Greer 1996
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