THINGS MY SON SHOULD KNOW AFTER I’VE DIED
I was young once. I dug holes
near a canal and almost drowned.
I filled notebooks with words
as carefully as a hunter loads his shotgun.
I had a father also, and I came second to an addiction.
I spent a summer swallowing seeds
and nothing ever grew in my stomach.
Every woman I kissed,
I kissed as if I loved her.
My left and right hands were rivals.
After I hit puberty, I was kicked out of my parents’ house
at least twice a year. No matter when you receive this
there was music playing now.
Your grandfather isn’t
my father. I chose to do something with my life
that I knew I could fail at.
I spent my whole life walking
and hid such colorful wings.
—from Rattle #29, Summer 2008
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Brian Trimboli: “There is a lot of untapped emotion in poetry, and the entire spectrum of it is sitting there like a spring as it gains potential energy. Help me to find the trigger.”
