FATHER

Clasp me again in your arms and steal my breath,
The sail of your chest against my lungs.
Rub my stiff neck
With your right hand soft as a river.
Hug me the way you hugged me
Last night in a dream.

Ask me again, like a flute
Its own echo: “When oh when
Are you going to stop?” Tighten your grip on my arms.
Hold me, I’m rolling down like a tear
To depths that only tears can plumb.

Whisper to me a distant song
Of your childhood, snatches of melody
Drawing a salty line from word to word.
Whisper it once more, the way you whispered
Last night in a dream.

Give me a shaking to make me listen
To words I cannot identify.
Cast over me the murmured words –
Nothing can stop their searing.

Give me a shaking once more, the way
You shook me in last night’s dream.

אבא

אבא