Mansion
A page in the diary ""
Written by keller 1. Apr 2008 03:18 PM
There are little doorways that lead us back to our past, remind us what has happened and how it influences us. My son had his friend over yesterday and this is how it was.
FOR JOSH (aged 10)
“This is a mansion”!
The friend of my son says to me.
“With room to move
Yard to explore and play”.
I nod a yes and mouth my joy
Yet something sits beneath
Memories laden
Through my childhood reaches through
Not knowing where to hide or where to run to
No mansion here
No carpets on the floor
Food came as it went
Through a broken plywood door
The yard enormous but thigh high in weeds
Sometimes we stayed at the neighbors
When there was a need
And sometimes we went with authorities
When the friction made someone bleed
The demon drink did her in
With coins enough to purchase
And the money gathered on horses spent
Where his luck runs bad and thoughtless
Did I dream of a mansion when I was 10 years old?
Or did I long for a bed a blanket to keep me from the cold?
What lay within that house is now gone
A family broken and buried
By my thought my wisdom caught
To catch my future I hurried
And my son looks at his friend
With his eyes of ten
In his friend I see the pain
I hold him close
Give where I can
I need to ease his pain
Its penance due
From a privileged life
That I fought so hard to obtain
For this young boy my hopes are great
If he can hold on he will sustain