A BIG BOY NOW

Hovering in the shadows
             
                     like a panhandler in Harvard Square,
     
I give you my most urgent

    looks,

              Vietnam!
              AIDS!
            Homelessness!
             World Hunger!
             Fully Amputated Limbs!

a simple sign around my neck that begs for a lousy cup

            of coffee, lukewarm, day-old grounds,

a quarter, a dime, a nickel,

                              an anything,

          my scabacious hand outstretched for the smallest crumb of love,

as I hear you say, with stunning detachment,

                               eyes submerged in the sports section,

                 "Back, back, Bill, give me some space,"

waving me away with the royal hand

                                   of imperial disinterest,

which you didn't do when I cut your

                   umbilical chord

eighteen years ago today,

            as you now prepare

                  to get your tongue pierced

     all by yourself.

 

February 17, 1999


All written material © Bill Schechter, 2016
Contact Bill Schechter