I have a boy.
He does not know how many times
I missed his baby laughter
And his tantrums.

I gave him the family name
He erased it
Gave himself his own name
And his own sense of timing.

To become useful to us
I thought he had to be broken
To the limitations
Of rigidly followed time.

I gave him my family's watch.
He sold it for a few dollars,
Then learned its worth
In a death.

And I learned that time
Marking the minutes and hours
Was not the way
To earn my son's love.

Now if he keeps the time
Like his brother
I smile; and I smile too
When he's hours late.

So long as he's safe
From the timing of the firing squad
And keeps my watch near him
I know we are family.

 

THE END