The child in our neighbor’s yard,
a boy, ten, their son,
unfolding into his father’s
fantasy, a blue necessity,
soon to adulterate
into duties and requirements
the heft of his body
is expected to fulfill.
The boy swings;
a rope – a boa,
a stick – a sword,
on a swing his father built,
throws a golden ball,
does not notice the ball dulling,
deflating, losing bounce.
Immensity shrivels in ingenuity’s
drought.
Games with rules – – – rule.
A mockingbird sings choral in a tree.
The boy pauses, patterns, repeats.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Poems present us with working questions. How are two words associated and what meaning can we derive from the association. “Blue necessity” for instance. Blue is the color associated with masculinity. Boy babies are covered with blue blankets, girls with pink. A “necessity” is something we cannot do without. A necessity is indispensable. The boy, although greatly loved, is not indispensable in a practical sense. But as he grows toward manhood he will become more indispensable to other, he will take on a more practical “get-er-done” relationship with others. The double implication of “adult” and “adulterate”, words not related etymologically but sound like they are. What is weakened, diluted, watered down as a boy becomes a man? What is lost?