Paternal Lessons
Written by A. R. Levett
Commended Award in 2016 Glen Phillips Poetry Prize
Commended Award in 2016 Glen Phillips Poetry Prize
Lessons from my father:
women are nice to look at and touch,
the only worthwhile ones
are those who bare their bodies
in trashy magazines;
swelter in a factory
where your talents atrophy
seize every cent
as if everyone owes you;
football is life,
barrack for the Eagles,
abuse the television
when your team is losing;
scull so much you
pass out mid-conversation,
your committed hospital stay
an honour badge;
leave your reserved seat empty
at your expectant child’s
award-earning ceremonies
to escape on sudden vacation.
The hardest lesson of all
one drunken night
I prefer your sister.
© A. R. Levett 2015
women are nice to look at and touch,
the only worthwhile ones
are those who bare their bodies
in trashy magazines;
swelter in a factory
where your talents atrophy
seize every cent
as if everyone owes you;
football is life,
barrack for the Eagles,
abuse the television
when your team is losing;
scull so much you
pass out mid-conversation,
your committed hospital stay
an honour badge;
leave your reserved seat empty
at your expectant child’s
award-earning ceremonies
to escape on sudden vacation.
The hardest lesson of all
one drunken night
I prefer your sister.
© A. R. Levett 2015
