Stay with me, my boy
says every night before falling
asleep. He makes it easy
for me to be sentimental.
I love that he loves a toy
elephant he named
Elefante and a girl
named Amelia who loves
that he loves running
after her. I love that he believes
the sun, like grass
and distant trains
and fish in the ocean sleep
when he sleeps. I love
that he does not know
the half of it. And tonight,
I can’t help myself—
I love most all
that there will be no sirens
waking him, no warnings
to flee the house, no roof
falling upon him, which
mothers and fathers
are cheering.
Hayan Charara is the author of Something Sinister (2016), The Sadness of Others (2006), and The Alchemist’s Diary (2001). Hayan is from Detroit, Michigan and is the child of Lebanese immigrants. He is a recipient of the NEA grant for poetry.
Photo by Tanya Habjouqa. See more at http://www.tanyahabjouqa.com/.
Photo by Tanya Habjouqa. See more at http://www.tanyahabjouqa.com/.