Poems about childhood and family
Poems about childhood, family, and the rooms that keep speaking.
These are poems about childhood and family: parents, old houses, memory, and the way a room can keep living inside the body long after you leave it.
I Still Wish
On the steps outside of music class You taught me how to jump through time. The wrought-iron handrails, Your grip so tight— Tiny feet stuck on those stone steps
Keep readingYou're Such a Beautiful Child
One day you'll watch From the back seat of the car Your Dad grab your Mom's hair And jerk her head so hard it snaps Back against the headrest.
Keep readingRight There Waiting
One day, when you're six years old you may watch your Dad leave, and have just the vaguest sense of where he's going. But what you won't know
Keep readingFlickering Eyes
When you leave home for the first time, Someone might recognize you by The sound of your voice, the way you wear your clothes, How you solve a problem.
Keep readingOne Kid Read This
I wish I could have warned you. I know it all seemed like just a game— following those older boys, up the concrete curved staircase
Keep readingStriped with Life
I watched you with a 4-crayon pack, Filling letters with a careful hand, Each stroke a single color. Halfway through, I touched your tiny wrist— "Try filling the other half of the letter
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