ONE OF MY FATHER'S

When it was time to bring up his bones someone knew just where to look:

An old family secret of the key to the door of the room with the trunk

Or the ancestral memory of the great-grandson of his faithful dog

Or he himself in a dream or a vision: “Remember my bones.”

THREE POEMS BY MY FATHER

(For Friday, some poems my father wrote.)

Act now, and God will send you

Free

Two good friends, valued at $19.95 each

And

An understanding heart

Plus, if you mail in your letter right away,

Wisdom at your right hand

And understanding at your left.

Ah, if only you knew the address.

Part of our brain

Sees with our grandfather’s brain,

Viewing sights we never saw:

The boys in small suits

Gathered down by the village stream

The women in head kerchiefs

The faces aware of hard work still to be done.

Men scrambling in the market place.

Our own grandchildren will wonder why they see

Mario Giordano and Walter Bradley

Solly Einbender and Junior Kaufman

And the empty lot where we dug to China.

People once loved then shunted to one side

Have responded coldly to our call for help;

If we can no longer count on the undying devotion

Of those we've hurt

How is the world to get along?