53: Boy in Park
53: Boy in Park
Boy in Park
by Laura Kasischke
Small boy running through the center of the park, un-
zipping summer straight down the middle as he runs until
all the small boys come tumbling out. All
the small boys pouring from the world’s fissure into
the world: My
father with a ball and bat. My
husband with a wooden gun. My son in
a cowboy hat. Their
shaving creams and razors. Their
little shoes.
Their untied laces. While
a woman, always younger, behind them in a sundress
calls their names, at first so sweetly
before she’s angry—and then
in panic:
Come back, come back. She’ll have
a few sharp words to share if she can ever catch them—although
she knows also there will never, never, never be
any time for that. Those
boys continuing to run. Their
trembling chins. Their
little feet I loved and loved, and
would kiss again and again.
“Boy in Park", from THE INFINITESIMALS by Laura Kasischke. Copyright © 2015 by Laura Kasischke. Used by permission of Copper Canyon Press.
