The Little Boy And The Father Poem by RIC BASTASA

the little boy cannot understand
why papa is not buying him toys,

when he grows up
he will ask his papa where did he really come from

was it from the slit of the giant bamboo?
he will not cry
he had knows suffering since then

soon he will doubt what fathers are
whether his papa comes from the womb of a boar
because he had been so cruel

time fills the gaps
assures that the wrongs are forgivable

a man rises from the head of the little boy
all questions are wilted flowers for soon he shall start his own
journey with another woman

to his mind he will never be like that man from the womb of the boar
and he will have his own images, his children and kin

the cycle repeats itself
there will be little boys who will doubt where their papas come from
and they will utter the word boars in their hearts

and papas die and memories crawl like vines looking for water
and the world shall weep and soon shall be keen observing
what silence had been
what screams are
whose faces are scarred
whose limbs survive