My parents--

flower children,

Woodstock lovers--

named me Leary

after their hero

 

insisted I call them Nick and Lucy

 

bought a house:

three floors,

tired brown clapboards,

a long front porch

hanging like a pouting lower lip

 

named it

after powdering their faces with stardust

in a psychedelic vision.

 

The H fell nearly 15 years ago:

the day I was born

Nick swung on it in joy

until it snapped off in his hands.

He never replaced it,

saying he liked to be reminded

of how he felt that day.

 

_________________________________

 

I like the voice in this poem - a young boy looking at his own parents and how they feel about him. Appropriate for junior high students and up, this poem conveys the feeling of love that the parents have for the boy but also that the boy has for them.  But the poem isn't sappy or hard to believe - it is simple, truthful, and appealing. 

 

As an extension of this poem, have the students think of something in their live that they leave as it is because it provides a strong memory for them - either positive or negative.  For example, leaving a christmas decoration up all year or leaving an old note taped to the bathroom mirror.