the truth of things

is in the telling

so when we sit

our children down

(separately

since they are so different)

we may avoid certain

deadly words

only warn them

that I will feel tired

sometimes

after my medicine

for up to two days

not quite the man

they have gotten used to

ready to throw down

with mock-ferocity

even at six o’clock

in the morning

instead I will claim

a sinister gentleness

my rightful weakness

we will expect them

to understand

that this is not

the same as dying

which is another word

we won’t utter

as long as they don’t

ask the wrong questions

they need never

come to terms

with mortality

until it happens

and our betrayals

are at an end

 

 

 

from subTerrain #73