He left
Patrick T. Reardon
Old enough to know, Denmark
Jones knew his father
did not fight battles outside the house.
He thought to be a cook,
a singer, a theorist of arcane insight,
but made no mention inside the house.
Old enough to know,
he knew his father
did not battle his mother
who laid down the lines.
Inside the house,
his father was distance,
his mother truth.
Pay attention to unbanked fires.
Old enough to leave, Denmark
Jones left, traveled.
He crossed boundaries, was actor,
mathematician, knew a cook,
several singers, but no theorist
except an addled monsignor.
He knew
his father and mother were right
that all life to be lived was inside the house.
They told him so.
They feared his leaving.
He left and
danced on stages they could not envision.
Patrick T. Reardon
11.14.24
This poem originally appeared in slightly different form in Suspended Magazine on 11.1.24.
Written by : Patrick T. Reardon
For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.