Once,On yellow paper, with green lines, he wrote a poem,And called it
“Chops”,Because that was the name of his dog,And that’s what it
was all about.And the teacher gave him an “A”And a gold star,And
his mother hung it on the kitchen door,And read it to all his
aunts.That was the year his sister was born,With tiny toenails and no
hair,And Father Tracy took them to the zooAnd let them sing on the
bus.And his mother and father kissed a lotAnd the girl around the
corner sent him a Christmas cardSigned with a row of x’s.And his
father always tucked him in at night,And he was always there to do
it.Once,On white paper, with blue lines, he wrote another poem.And he
called it “Autumn”Because that was the name of a season,And
that’s what it was all about.And the teacher gave him an “A”And
told him to write more clearly.And his mother didn’t hang it on the
kitchen doorBecause the doorHad just been painted.That was the year
his sister got glasses,With black frames and thick lenses.And the kids
told him why father and motherKissed a lot,And that Father Tracy
smoked cigarsAnd left butts on the pews,And the girl around the block
laughedWhen he went to see Santa Claus at Macy’s.And his father
stopped tucking him in bed at night,And got mad when he cried for him
to.Once,On paper torn from his notebook, he wrote another poem,And he
called it “Question Marked Innocence”,Because that was the name of
his griefAnd that’s what it was all about.And the professor gave him
an “A”And a strange and steady look.And his mother never hung it
on the doorBecause he never let her see it.That year he found his
sister necking on the back porchAnd his parents never kissed, or even
smiled.And he forgot how the end of the “Apostle’s Creed”
went,And Father Tracy died.And the girl around the block wore too much
make-upThat made him cough when he kissed her,But he kissed her
anyway.Once,At 3 a.m., he tucked himself in bed,His father snoring
soundly.He tried another poem, on the back of a pack of matches,And he
called it “absolutely nothing”Because that’s what it was all
about.And he gave himself an “A”And a slash on each damp wrist,And
hung it on the bathroom door,Because he couldn’t reach the kitchen.
