A Delicate Moment by Jon

I know what people want...they want clever poetry about children. So at the risk of seeming creepy I'm going to share one of my favorite poems about family life. It was written by Barbara Howes (1959) and it is called...

Early Supper

Laughter of the children brings
The kitchen down with laughter.
While the old kettle sings
Laughter of the children brings
To a boil all savory things.
Higher than beam or rafter,
Laughter of children brings
The kitchen down with laughter.

So ends an autumn day,
Light ripples on the ceiling,
Dishes are stacked away;
So ends an autumn day,
The children jog and sway
In comic dances wheeling,
So ends an autumn day,
Light ripples on the ceiling.

They trail upstairs to bed,
And night is a dark tower.
The kettle calls: instead
They trail upstairs to bed,
Leaving warmth, the coppery-red
Mood of their carnival hour.
They trail upstairs to bed
And night is a dark tower.

I like this poem because it is actually about the joy of family life. The form and imagery are warm and playful and, for the most part, this poem is not ashamed to stay put in the joy of having a family. It seems like there is a tendency among writers to look at the ugly side of life in order to feel like one is "telling the truth". While I think that kind of approach has its place, it can also be nice to read something that stays faithful to another sort of truth. True, growing up (and death) stand like a dark tower on the horizon of this poem but they only serve to punctuate the fact that childhood and parenthood are fleeting and precious. What's really amazing is that Howes does this without being too sappy. It can be hard to write good poetry about good things. Overall, it's a poem about life, it reminds me of the some of the best moments of my life and I like that.