Can't Say I Never Tried

Sometimes, I’m your son
and as my father
me being 5 is okay.
Mistakes overcome themselves
Compulsive behavior corrects itself
Clatter murmurs sleepy whisky overtones that we know how to adjust
When they go sharp, or, forbid,
drop flat (!)
And somehow the show goes on,
broken legs and all.

Sometimes, I’m your friend-
As your friend-
Your concerns worry me
What you are into I’m all over
But your misplaced confidences consume me
You refuse to hear my poetry
You don’t even mean to betray me, you think
And the way that you have been betrayed by others you’ve helped
Well, that’s not ok
It’s not okay with me-

Sometimes when you talk to me like I’m 5,
I’m not
and sometimes,
when you think I don’t hear you
o, I do
and sometimes what I think I understand, I don’t
Sometimes all the things I do and don’t know
Disappear-

So now I know what I knew
So much for wisdom and creative opportunities