On the Birthday of a Son

This year my older son's birthday coincided with Father's Day, as it does some years.

My own birthday falls within a few days of my son's, so I too have shared the anniversary of my birth with Father's Day on multiple occasions.

My mother tells the story of wrapping me in a bow and giving me as a gift to my father on my first birthday, which was also the first time these two specials days happened to coincide. I have always felt funny about the story, smiled awkwardly, wished for the ritual repeating of this story to finally be over for another year.

But when my son was born within days of my birthday, I almost swooned with the pleasure of it. And  every seventh year when his birthday and Father's Day are one and the same, I am all day giddy with delight, much to (already twice) his chagrin.

I am reminded, once again, of this quote by E. M. Forster: “For a wonderful physical tie binds the parents to the children; and - by some sad, strange irony - it does not bind us children to our parents. For if it did, if we could answer their love not with gratitude but with equal love, life would lose much of its pathos and much of its squalor, and we might be wonderfully happy.”

This is how it should be, of course. And I shall sit in my squalor and pathos and observe them as they grow and grow away, my sons.

Poems About Fathers

Poems about fathers:

from e. e. cummings, "my father moved through dooms of love"

from Gary L. McDowell, "Shuttlecock"

from Mark Jarman, "Descriptions of Heaven and Hell"

from Dean Rader, "Ocean Beach at Twilight: 14"

from Judy Halebsky, "My Father Remembers Blue Zebras"

from W. S. Merwin, "Yesterday"

from Chad Sweeney, "The Methodist and His Method"

from Joseph Fasano, "The Figure"

from Donald Hall, "White Apples"

from Frank Bidart, "Lament for the Makers"


I also wanted to include a poem about driving by a cemetery and honking towards a father's grave, but I can't find it. I think it's Robert Bly.....anybody??

How to Join CRWOPPS

I've mentioned before the usefulness of the CRWOPPS-B List (Creative Writers Opportunities List). Today CRWOPPS-B moderator Allison Joseph has posted the following instructions for joining the list as well as accessing the postings without joining. I've posted that information below. Enjoy.

******************************

Dear Subscribers:
Please feel free to pass on the instructions to join the list to other writers that you know.
If they do not want to join, but just wish to see the postings, tell them to bookmark
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/CRWROPPS- B/

Instructions for joining the Creative Writers Opportunities List:

To join the group, send a blank e-mail message to

crwropps-b-subscrib e@yahoogroups. com

You will receive a return email with further instructions.
(Check your spam folder if you don't see the email right away).

Or visit
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/CRWROPPS- B/

and click on "Join This Group" tab. Follow on-screen instructions
to complete sign-up.

Allison Joseph, Moderator
Creative Writers Opportunities List

Homes for Long Poems (or Poem Cycles)

Places that accept and/or welcome longer submissions of poetry (long poems, poem cycles, or submissions of many pages of poems or many poems desired):

The New Orleans Review is looking for poetry submissions of 16 - 32 pages for its next print issue

The Beloit Poetry Journal  "Limit your submission to five pages unless you are submitting a long poem (yes, we publish them). "

The Missouri Review  "TMR publishes poetry features only—6 to 14 pages of poems by each of 3 to 5 poets per issue."

The Alaska Quarterly Review "Poems in traditional and experimental styles but no light verse (up to 20 pages)."

The Virginia Quarterly Review "Poetry: All types and length."

At Length Magazine requests poems longer than seven single-spaced pages (thanks to Mari for the tip on this one)

Michigan Quarterly Review accepts 8 to 12 pages per poetry submission

Sugar House Review up to 5 poems and 15 pages per submission

Long Poem Magazine the name says it all (out of the UK)

Nimrod International Journal Submit "3 to 10 pages."

Artful Dodge "Please send no more than 25 pages of prose or 6 poems, though long poems are encouraged."

Gettysburg Review "...interested in both short and long poems of nearly any length or aesthetic bent."

New England Review "We are looking for long and short poems."


I'll continue updating this list as I find more, so if you are interested, check back occasionally.

If you know of any good homes, please post them in the comments section, or email them to me in the contact section.