LAGGING BEHIND MY FATHER
AS HE REVISITED THE NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AT
MORGANTON, 1996

I lingered on the hill
where my father often walked
as a boy, perhaps daydreaming

just like I was, eyes
deep in their sockets
so not to see too much.

Then my eyes peered out
of their sweet recess
to see the sidewalk ahead

no longer carrying my father.
I ran, my feet pounding
the sloping squares

of muted light bridging
over the swell of land
that suddenly became air.

My surprised legs floundered
then wheeled mysteriously
as I swam through sky,

somersaulting once, again,
my fingers brushing
concrete as a heel bumped

against the railing
of the stairs leading down
to where my father stood waiting.

His mouth opened
as I somehow landed,
staggering but still standing,

as his first son, eyes
slowly peering out again
after a dream just lived.

-- John Lee Clark


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