Indulgences Poem by Leo Briones

Indulgences



For Father’s Day
the kids bought me
an old bass drum,
about three feet around.

The hoops, fading brass.
The tension rods and lugs, worn pewter.
The drum shell, antique and rubbed cinnamon.
The batter drum, a shabby seashell.

“It reminds me of you Dad”,
they say perfectly earnest.

I immediately
turn this drum on it’s side,
roll in a round piece of glass that
has been waiting in the garage for years.
I polish the glass then place it flat on top of the drum.

From the wine cellar I bring a bottle
of 2002 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon
cork it and let it sit for two hours.

When I return,
the kids are long asleep,
a single crystal wine glass, made
in Bohemia during the Cold War,
sits alone on the table.

I pour the cab, smell it’s bouquet —

then lightly tap the drum’s shell with my foot
to make the sound of tiny thunder.

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