A selection from 'Sudden Death'

I watch, as outside my window, my son head-fakes
the rhododendron and dribbles past the bougainvillea;
running circles around the swing-set he hasn't used
for eight summers, and now, my heart stops as he feints
left, scoops, and follows the ball up the seesaw,
balanced momentarily on the rotted wooden fulcrum.
Now he's tapping on the glass, impatient, all attitude,
challenging me, one-on-one; he, blindfolded,
or running backwards, winner take all. Sudden death,
he mouths. And, suddenly, I see that his face,
pressed against the lower right corner of the pane,
is a stamp on an upside-down un-addressed envelope.
And I don't know where he is going or when
he will arrive or who will be looking for him
at the other end, or even the contents of the letter
inside. He's not talking, but his body is so full of words,
it can barely contain its victories and defeats,
and all of the sounds that it still needs to say.

©2009 Richard Michelson

Listen to Richard Michelson's reading from "Sudden Death"

Richard Michelson is the author of two poetry collections, "Tap Dancing for the Relatives" and "Battles and Lullabies," as well as many books for children. He is the owner of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton and lives in Amherst.

"Hear a Poet, There a Poet" features poetry by local authors chosen by Northampton's Poet Laureate Lesléa Newman. It runs on Wednesday's book page every other week. Poems for this column have been pre-selected. Please do not send poetry submissions or requests to the Gazette.