Poem for My Nephews

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Written on the occasion of the recent birthday of one of them:


BIRTHDAY

AT 2 MONTHS
I didn't want you to leave your swaddling blanket
Your body snug and warm
Only your lovely face peering out
You were perfectly happy and perfectly safe

AT 4 YEARS
I didn't want you to go to school
With all the machinations of the classroom and playground
As potent and complex as any boardroom

AT 7 YEARS
I didn't want you to grow out of your car seat
You would still jump out of the minivan and yell "Aunt Lynnie!"
At the top of your lungs

AT 16 YEARS
I didn't want you to become a man
And lose your smooth skin
And vulnerability
And right to be protected

AT 22 YEARS
I didn't want you to graduate and get a job
To step into a world of compulsion from which
You'd only be freed by retirement, death, or a really lucky ticket

AT 25 AND 27
I don't want you to
Grow old
Be disappointed
Hurt in love
Ever get divorced
Put a child in the ground
Cry
Suffer
Mourn

AT 46
I've done most of these things
And still feel free and happy and dashing and innocent
But still
Promise me that you won't
Or if you do
You'll wait till I'm 90
And too blind to see it

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