Comfort for the Ages
tell the toddler it only happened there
which is far from here where it’s safe and if
the tummyaches don’t clear come talk some more
tell the preschooler yes here’s pretty near
to there but there won’t come here where it’s safe
because the boy who did the bad thing there
is not like us here tell the first-grader
sure a boy like that could come here but if
so those drills she practices in class where
she hides in the closet latches the door
shuts the light and stays stiff will keep her safe
tell the pre-teen that you bought one for here
just in case which is racked and locked downstairs
where it’s safe though if the worst saves itself
for when she’s in school crawl under a chair
or a body and if her life ends there
there should also be some classmates who love
her so she won’t be by herself there there
That’s Not Why I Did It
For the hunger, the story, the singer, the glint,
for the ashes of my father, the money, the scent.
Because my mother drank whiskey sour,
loved me and didn’t, folded and swore,
because they ran out of soft serve and the earth is on fire.
From lust, from fright, from spunk, from rage,
because I had no more reasons, coffee, or dreams,
because I woke on a ledge,
for the sake of the kids, on behalf of the dead.
To prove it couldn’t have happened without me,
to comfort a fool, to puncture the bulbous,
to get my hands on the wheel.
Whereas I knew but forswore,
in that I wouldn’t and more,
because I was weary, am sorry, the status was quo,
because I didn’t have anything else to do.
For the orange, the green,
for the team, for conceit,
since that’s who I am,
since I’m better than that.
Because nobody came or somebody laughed,
for the moan, for the rain,
because nothing was left.
Ken Haas was born and raised in New York City but has lived for many years in San Francisco, where he works in healthcare and has created a weekly poetry writing program at UCSF Children’s Hospital. His first full poetry collection, Borrowed Light, won or was shortlisted for several awards. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in more than 50 respected journals, including Atlanta Review, Clare, Natural Bridge, Nimrod International Journal, Permafrost, Poet Lore, and Prism, as well as a number of anthologies. He has been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and serves on the Board of the Community of Writers.
Pulsebeat Poetry Journal 