WEBVTT

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This is the sort of poem I
meant not to write many of,

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in which you see the son of
the poet in adorable attitudes.

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There are three parts.

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It's called "Illuminations."

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There's a reach.

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[LAUGHTER]

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I'll pause between the sections.

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My son stands in the snow
in his blue snow suit,

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all around him stubble--

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the brown degraded bushes.

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In the morning air, they
seem to stiffen into words.

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And between the
white steady silence,

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a wren hops on the
airstrip under the sill--

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drills for sustenance, then
spreads its short wings--

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shadows dropping from them.

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Last winter, he
could barely speak.

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I moved his crib
to face the window.

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In the dark mornings, he
would stand and grip the bars

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until the walls
appeared, calling light--

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light-- that one syllable
in demand for recognition.

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He sits at the kitchen window
with his cup of apple juice.

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Each tray forms
where he left it--

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leafless, trapped in his breath.

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How clear their
edges are, no limb

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obscured by motion, as the
sun rises cold and single

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over the map of language.

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