TAURUS
Like Father Like Son
He came
from a village
Of wildflower death valleys
Suffocating in silence
And watered down by harsh truths
Sunday dinners
When he swallowed his tears like pounded yam
And his mother's bitter-leaf soup
Left an aftertaste of fear
He is a graveyard
of unspoken grievances
Carrying the death wish
Of wives
Who bit their tongues
To keep up appearances
If you look closely
You will see the tears of his great grandmother
In the eyes of his frightened son
History does not go away
It repeats itself
At 2:47am
As his confused son
Wonders when he will be strong enough
To kill his father
And swears
Never to touch his wife
With a force harder
than a soft caress of her cheek
Photo credit: Julie Blackmon