Blaise
I knew from the moment I became filled with him
That he was extraordinary, wise, special
I laughed and daddy counted
And Sade sang that this was no ordinary love
And she was right.
All through that first November frost, streets slick with acid rain
He looked for God in the clouds and wondered why I didn’t see him, too.
While it rained cats and dogs he searched the sky for puppies and kittens
Duck rain boots kept him dry as he waited
And he wondered why they never came
One and a half years of life, then loss
The loss returning one dark winter, not announcing, but there nevertheless
Did you see it, mom? he asked
And the room filled to bursting with a visitor uninvited
That only he could see
I’m leaving on a jet plane, I sang to him that fall
Fearing it may come to fruit he asked me to stop
Tears stung eyes too beautiful to see
That even a song sees nothing lasts forever.
But he knew
What am I, he asked one night over Shepherd’s Pie and rigatoni
You’re Churchill and Il Duce, Bass Ale and a good Barolo
You’re Westminster Abby and Sicily
And olive oil in delicate porcelain
And the boy announced he was Itlish, and who were we to argue
Extraordinary, I said that spring when the Itlish boy
Greeted grandpa’s friend at the wake
Too late to say goodbye
The Itlish boy said arrivederci for him with an embrace
He didn’t know he gave
Why are we killing Tookie for killing? he wondered
And I didn’t have an answer
Stand for something or stand for nothing
So he stood
And at 12:01 the Itlish boy screamed in his sleep
And he sees God in the clouds and wonders why we don’t
And he asks how the patron saint of throats and children
Could possibly be named after him
And I tell him he is deep
And he asks if he will drown
Not while I’m around, I say
Not while I’m around
Julie Dolcemaschio
All Rights Reserved
© 2009
