A POEM ABOUT YOU

I tried to write a poem about you,
Just like you asked me to.
It wasn't working.
I kept trying
I saw your red hair in the spotlight
I saw you cringe as the baton
Rolled down your arms
I saw your confident smile
When you caught it with both hands
But I couldn't make it a poem about you.

I heard long ago conversations
when I took you out to learn to drive
on the back roads in Montclair and Clifton
where we rode streets neither of us had seen before
But I couldn't make it a poem about you.

I felt the weight of the video camera at your competitions
When you tossed three batons in the air
Twirled around and caught each one with ease
I carried the trophies to the shelves I built in your room.
And saw the lone trophy I turned backwards
So you'd know I'd been there
But I couldn't make it a poem about you.

You asked me to do one thing
One thing that should be so simple for me
You asked me to write a poem about you
I could see you with your dolls
And then in your brand new car
I could see you sleeping over at a friend’s
Then traveling to China, Japan and Europe too.
I could see you on your first bike
With that humongous helmet on your head
And I could see you with your car packed
to the mirrors with your college stuff
I could see you with a bowl of cereal
watching Saturday morning cartoons
And speaking to thousands as president
of your college graduating class
I could see all these things, the old and the new
But I couldn't make it a poem about you.

- By Anthony Buccino
Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.