T. Anders Carson
Week One
I don’t understand the feelings of children.
I don’t relate to gasps of birth.
I don’t feel that time will singe pain.
I don’t comprehend the battle of mid-wife and doctor.
I don’t forget the vaginal ultrasound sans latex gloves.
I don’t see the point of no referral fee.
I don’t play the street or battle the fire.
I simply am a father.
A tiny, minuscule shape of a man
who has undergone the agony of existence
and realized the smarting from youth.
I won’t follow down their torturous footsteps
I won’t clam myself up in a ball and jog until I’m senseless.
I won’t take my own life in a tub leaving youngsters behind
full of sorrow and loathing.
I won’t take advantage of death or its reel of infancy
that so many deem cocksure.
Instead,
I have to build a house full of love,
without controlling the external.
I have to provide a safe vista of openness
to feed the daily fires of curiosity,
selfishness and longing.
I have to build a home without fear.
Page(s) 85
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