Dandelion Wine

And Two More Story-Poems

Issue #20

Brothers

I am sorry, mister.
He is my brother, and
I cannot allow you
to treat him that way.
Yeah, our clothes may
be torn and our shoes
full of holes. And we
look like we have not
had a good meal to eat
in a month of Sundays.
But that does not
give you the right
to spit in his face
and to call him
a dirty thief. If 
our mother were alive,
she would nail your carcass
to the wall and leave
you for the wolves. I only
am asking that you apologize.

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Notes

These poems are short vignettes, snapshots of a moment in time. They capture a feeling, emotion, or thought and are built around family relationships.

Siblings often fight, but when an outsider attacks one of them, they come together to overcome the attacker. In this story, the attacker is probably a store owner.

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Daughter

She slips her hand
in mine as we walk
down the city street
in search of a place
where we can lay
our heads for the night
without being attacked
and beaten by local thugs
or jailed by the cops.
She is only nine
and as sweet a daughter
as a father could want.
Her mother died last year
from cancer, and nothing
has been the same since.
I lost my job and was
unable to pay the medical
bills. She squeezes my hand
and smiles up at me:
"I love you, daddy."

---

Notes

The parent-child relationship is unique and challenging. Economic difficulties will dramatically impact the family dynamic. In this short vignette, the daughter supports a father who has lost almost everything important to him, but he still has the love of a daughter.

---

Dandelion Wine

"The fairies are coming!
The fairies are coming!"
she shouted and danced
with joy. "Come with me,
papa, and greet the fairies
who have come to celebrate
the arrival of autumn and
the harvest of the crops."
She took my hand in hers
and led me to the garden
where fairies were sitting
on the ground, drinking
dandelion wine and telling
stories of adventure and
romance. I wanted to stop
and listen, but she tugged
and pulled. "Come, papa,
come. I want you to meet
the sweet young fairy who
taught me how to dance."

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Notes

The first two poems focus on poverty and homelessness. This last poem is about imagination in the father/daughter relationship.

Years ago, when my wife taught daycare, she met a mother who believed that people should not tell children fairy tales. She felt there were enough monsters in the world that we did not need to manufacture imaginary ones. She did not grasp that fairy tales help children cope with monsters they encounter.

Thanks for reading my poetry.

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