Issue Index

Full-Time Dads;

The Magazine for Caregiver Fathers

Issue 24

For My Son at Sixteen Months

By Luke Welch

You fell asleep first
as we drove down the long road,
fevered car pulling into the empty park,
car in the shade, birdsong,
distant hum of chainsaw,
I leaned back in my seat
and fell asleep beside you.

I'm awake now
while you sit there, beginning to stir.
Your eyes drift open,
watch my scribbling pen,
then close again, the sleep too heavy
to lift now.

In these moments I'm strengthened somehow.
The easy songs of birds, the chainsaw,
your slow breath leading me on
through these hard times.

Copyright 1996 Luke Welch