Comment

Comment, son,
on the darkness you feel
when you hear the word
“Father.”

Comment on
its bat wings, how it navigates
in darkness, how it fills its mouth
with mosquitoes full of your blood.

Comment on its
soft opening, seduction
in its syllables and
its growling finish.

Comment, Mother,
on how it feels
when your son says it
in the hopeful, dreadful way.

Comment on its acid
and the bag of regrets
that hangs from it
as it flies from him.

Comment, say something
to make the word mean something
it hasn’t meant for a while.
Comment so you can both remember

how to breathe.

Tags: poems, poetry, meditations