Kristopher

For my perfect seashell.

Kristopher

 

I offer you back to the waves, my son

Where you bathe in your father’s eyes -

A man too blind to see.

I see it, the twirls and hunger

Of the ocean. Remembering how he held me -

Strong and never blinking.

Your three-year-old giggles whisper

Of our love. Perfect seashells bobbing

To shore, unafraid of high tide.

It once sat in his drawer, wet on my scent -

Tucked between his shorts. He took it out,

As I do you, to smell.

I inhale you. His soap and salty sweat

No different. Your stocky build mocking

The frailty of his courage.

I offer you to the moon, my son

Where we made love on wicker chairs

And slept in a hammock.

I see it, twisting under fireworks

On a Fourth of July while she worked -

Unaware as he made promises.

Our six-month-old love affair

Hanging in the summer heat, cooled in compare

To his kisses and lies.

But do not fear, my son. I’ve always been one

For ocean swimming. Never afraid of sharks

Or jellyfish stings.

You take my eyes, my dear

And look wide into the sea. Knowing of perfect

Seashells and promises kept.

I release you to the stars, my boy

Where you shall throw back a comet

He’ll never catch. And know I’m there.

Open hearted. Like the great ocean, wide

And yawning big on your love. While he sits

On a shore drunk on a lie.

And so you take my heart, my son

And let it take you places he’d never dream -

Swimming strong in his absence.

You’ll offer him the waves one day

And he won’t recognize your strength -

Perfect as a seashell. Perfectly complete.

Beware, my son! He’ll say it was insanity

And I a mere phase. Like a lovesick tide on eclipse

Or a hermit crab set free.

He’ll tell you he did not know, promising -

His words are empty shells. Not all men, my K,

Are made the same.

All I ask of you, my son, is take this away:

Grow to be a better man. Ride upon the wave.

Keep your promises and stay brave.

Reviews

[Bubo]

You are a gift to your son, a true rare gift, and in years to come he will bathe in all the love you have given him, and be a strong man, with a good heart, and nothing will sway him from that love, because strong foundations cannot be crumbled, so let those shake away........for it cannot fall, he looks like a wonderful little man, and life before him is a journey of self discovery, and he will be enriched by you his mother. I loved every line of this poem, you are strong, and never be afraid of sharks.......