Jericho Brown - Again lyrics

You are not as tired of the poem As I am of the memory. A returning toothache On either side of the mouth. An ingrown hair beneath the chin. Simple itch. Bruising scratch And again I am bundled In cousin Kenny's clothes From last school year My hand held by my mother's. We walk as if the house behind us Isn't warm enough For my feet. In the dark We make a few blocks Around the one-story neighborhood That I loved Though nothing I've written Tells you this. I want to cut it out of me. Because. Turns out it never mattered. Right now my mother's asleep On my father's chest. His arm has landed In the same place around her Most of thirty years. Give a man a minute. She's asleep and I'm typing it All over again. Everywhere A man is shifting a bit To make his woman comfortable In his arms. I should have told you this Lines ago. We walked back To the house we ran from. Because. My mother loves her husband And his hands Even if laid heavy against her. I know you Don't want to believe that But give a man a minute. We're not done. My father loves his wife And the shape of her body Even if hunched in retreat, Their son keeping up. I'm so sick of it— Another awful father Scarring this page too— A bruising scratch. We walked back Through an open door. And why don't I mention He kissed my forehead Before covering me On the couch that was my bed? Listen And you can hear them In the next room Planning names for the youngest of us Then making love loud enough