Once (Fish remember this)

Once,
On yellow paper with green lines, he wrote a poem.
And he called it "CHOPS"
Why???
Because that was the name of his dog.
And that was what it was all about.
And the teacher gave him an "A",
And a big gold star to put on the paper.
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door,
And read it to his aunts.
That was the year his sister was born,
With tiny toenails and no hair.
And Father Tracy took the children to the zoo,
And let them sing on the bus.
And his mother and father kissed a lot.
And the girl around the block sent him a Christmas card,
Signed with a row of X-s.
And his father always tucked him in bed at night,
And was always there to do it.

Once,
On white paper with blue lines, he wrote another poem.
And he called it "AUTUMN"
Why???
Because that was the name of the season,
And that was what it was all about.
And the teacher gave him an "A",
And told him to write more clearly.
And his mother didn't hang it on the kitchen door,
Because the door had just been painted.
That was the year his sister got glasses,
With big black frames and thick lenses.
And Father Tracy smoked cigars,
And left the butts on the pews.
And kids told him why his mother and father kissed a lot.
And the girl around the block laughed at him,
When he went to see Santa Clause at Macy's.
And his father didn't tuck him in bed at night,
And got mad when he cried for him.

Once,
On paper torn from his notebook, he wrote a poem.
And he called it "QUESTIONS FROM THE INNOCENT"
Why???
Because that was how he felt at the time,
And that was what it was all about.
And the teacher didn't give him an "A",
And she gave him a strange look.
And his mother didn't hang it on the kitchen door,
Because he never showed it to her.
That was the year his sister was caught,
Caught necking on the back porch steps.
And Father Tracy was sent to jail,
Because he was caught molesting children.
And his mother and father never kissed or even smiled.
And the girl around the block wore too much makeup.
It made him cough but he still kissed her all the same.
And around 3:00 AM he tucked himself in bed,
And his father soundly snoring.

Once,
On the back of a pack of matches, he wrote a poem.
And he called it "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING"
Why???
Because that's how people treated him,
And that was what it was all about.
And he gave himself an "A",
And a SLASH ON EACH DAMN WRIST.
And he hung it on the bathroom door.
Because he couldn't reach the kitchen.


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