How far is it, he said,
to Athol from here?
Not sure, I said, I could
look it up for you.
I am surprised at you,
he said, a little of his fondness for me
starting to leak away. I am surprised
at you. You always used to know
your place on this earth
and almost exactly
how close or far it was to any town
within a hundred miles or so
of where you were standing.
Really,
I said, I’m sorry, I don’t remember that
at all. I’m sorry I have disappointed you.
Ah, he said, won’t be the last time,
or the last time I forgive you either.
You’re my son and maybe you being lost
is my fault. Not sure I’d know
where I was either
if I had to deal with me.
And with that he shut down and shut up
and we sat together while I tried to recall
how far it might be to Athol
and tore up my brain trying to figure why
that might be of such importance to him
now.
Dark Matter 
December 19th, 2012 at 6:38 am
I absolutely love this one! The flow and story line remind me of some of my most favourite poets…my only disappoint was that it was so short….honestly I could have happily read the interaction between father and son for many more pages….are you sure there isn’t more of this story inside you somewhere?
Wishing the happiest of holidays to you and your family!
Hugs and love – Chris
December 19th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
I don’t know, Chris. Maybe, but not in this poem — I like the captured moment feel of this.
December 19th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
You are right….the moment is captured so well…and I agree that that is what makes it so special. But there is something else here…a special energy and natural flow in the rythm and wording of the exchange between the characters that made me want to settle in with a bowl of popcorn or something and see what happens next…should you ever decide to write a sequel I look forward to reading it.
Happy Holidays again and hopefully we can catch up in person when I next visit the States.
December 19th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
I look forward to it.